Inscribed to the memory of Mary Keller.
"Where Is Thy Spirit Mary?" (1847)
Written and Composed by Stephen Collins Foster, 1826-1864

1.
Where is thy spirit Mary?
Dwells it in the air?
Friends thou hast forsaken
Fondly deemly 'tis ling'ring there.
I heard an oldtime ballad,
Low and plaintive was the strain
So pure and clear, I seem'd to hear
Thy gentle voice again.
She who sang was lovely,
She was innocent and fair
And I said, if angels guard us,
Thy sweet spirit lingers there.

2.
Where is thy spirit Mary?
Watching while we sleep?
Dost weep for those who wept for thee?
Do angels ever weep?
The autumn leaf had wilted
Ere thou hadst lost thy bloom.
But when that leaf had left its stem
It settled on thy tomb.
Spring birds now returning
With their music fill the air,
And we know by that sweet warning
That thy spirit lingers there.