To His Friend
D.S. Wambold, Esq.
"I Cannot Mind My Wheel, Mother" (1861)
Ballad.
Sung With Great Success By
Mr. D.S. Wambold.
Words by
Charles Swain.
Music By
Oscar Schalk.

New York: Firth, Pond & Co., 547 Broadway
Boston: O. Ditson & Co.
New Orleans: P. P. Werlein & Halsey
Cincinnati: C. Y. Fonda
Newark: Geo. O. Duncklee
Pittsburgh: H. Kleber & Bro.
Plate number: 5091
[Source: 052/023@Levy]

1. I canno mind my wheel, Mother,
I cannot mind my wheel;
You know not what my heart must know,
You know not what I feel.
My thread is idly cast, Mother,
My thouht is o’er the sea;
My hopes are fading fast, Mother,
Yet feel you not for me.

[CHORUS sung after each VERSE]
I cannot mind my wheel, Mother,
I cannot mind my wheel;
You know not what my heart must know,
You know not what I feel.

2. I had a dreadful dream, Mother,
’Twas of a ship at sea;
I saw a form amidst the storm,
I heard him call on me.
I heard him call on me, Mother,
As plain as not I speak.
I thought my brain would burst, Mother,
I though my heart would break.

3. For me he perils life, Mother,
The weary ocean wide,
And yet a word, one word from you
Had kept him at my side.
My wheel had gaily sped, Mother,
My thoughts at home smil’d free;
But now my smiles have fled, Mother,
My heart is o’er the sea.