To Miss Therese De Sote.
"The Picture on the Wall" (1880)
Song & Chorus
Composed by Joseph P. Skelly

New York: S. T. Gordon & Son, 13 East 14th St.
[Source: 02139@LoC]

1.
It is old and faded now
But is still the same to me,
Its presence sheds a halo all around
In my dark and cheerless room
When I gaze upon the face
To me there is a solace to be found.
'Tis years and years ago
Since that loving face was here
In life to answer to my happy call.
But now I sit alone
And think of brighter days
As I gaze upon the picture on the wall.

CHORUS [sung after each verse]
The faded picture of my mother,
It hangs above me on the wall.
How happy I would be
Could I nourish into life
The picture on my mother on the wall.

2.
The world may call me cold,
I, am lonely, that is all,
My heart is still as warm as it can be,
But when the hand of Death
Takes a loving form away,
The heart can never beat so joyfully.
In vain I often sigh
For the days that have gone by,
The picture seems so clearly to recall,
How happy I would be
Could I nourish into life
The picture on the wall.