"We Sat By the River" (1872)
Words by Claribel
[psued. for Mrs. Charlotte Alington Barnard, 1830-1869]

J. L. Carncross & Co.
Plate No. 180-3
[Source: 100004459@HSM/LoC]

1.
We sat by the river you and I,
In the sweet summer time long ago,
So smoothly the water gilded by,
Making music in its tranquil flow,
We threw two leaflets you and I,
To the river as it wander'd on,
And one was rent and left to die,
And the other floated forward all alone,
And Oh! we were saden'd you and I,
For we felt that our youth's golden dream,
Might fade and our lives be sever'd soon,
As the two leaves were parted in the stream.

CHORUS [sung after each verse]
We sat by the river you and I,
(Yes, you and I,)
In the sweet summer time long ago,
(long ago,)
So smoothly the water glided by,
(glided by,)
Making music in its tranquil flow.

2.
'Tis years since we parted you and I,
In that sweet summer time long ago,
And I smile as I pass the river by,
And I gaze in to the the shadow depths below
I look on the grass and bending reeds,
And I listen to the soothing song,
And I envy the calm and happy life,
Of the river as it sings and flows along,
For Oh! how its song brings back to me,
The shade of our youth's golden dream,
In the days ere we parted you and I,
As the two leaves were parted in the stream.