Song of America: Gentle Annie

music: Stephen Foster
text: Stephen Foster
performer:Leslie Guinn

Gentle Annie Lyrics:
(Verse 1)
Thou wilt come no more, gentle Annie
Like a flower thy spirit did depart;
Thou are gone, alas! like the many
That have bloomed in the summer of my heart
(Chorus)
Shall we never more behold thee;
Never hear thy winning voice again
When the Spring time comes, gentle Annie
When the wild flowers are scattered o’er the plain?
(Verse 2)
We have roamed and loved mid the bowers
When thy downy cheeks were in their bloom;
Now I stand alone mid the flowers
While they mingle their perfumes o’er thy tomb
(Chorus)
Shall we never more behold thee;
Never hear thy winning voice again
When the Spring time comes, gentle Annie
When the wild flowers are scattered o’er the plain?
(Verse 3)
Ah! the hours grow sad while I ponder
Near the silent spot where thou are laid
And my heart bows down when I wander
By the streams and the meadows were we strayed
(Chorus)
Shall we never more behold thee;
Never hear thy winning voice again
When the Spring time comes, gentle Annie
When the wild flowers are scattered o’er the plain?

This song is generally thought to be Foster’s elegy to his cousin Annie Evans, who died shortly before he composed this. The music is from a traditional Irish tune.