"I Would Not Die in Summer Time" (1851)
An answer to the New and Beautiful
Song
"I Would Not Die in Spring Time"
Written and Composed (Poetry and Music) by
Stephen Collins Foster, 1826-1864

1.
I would not die in Summer time
When hearts are light and free,
And joy is borne from every clime
O'er mountain, stream and lea.
I would not leave the friends I know,
Beguiled of hope and cheer,
To lose in burning tears of woe
The glad time of the year.

2.
Oh! no, I would not pass away
When, from the leafy grove,
The red bird carols all the day
Its song of joy and love;
When merry warblers trill their notes
From every bush and tree,
And on the breeze, an anthem floats
Of heaven-born melody.

3.
I would not die in Summer time,
And lie within the tomb,
When blushing fruits are in their prime,
And fields are in their bloom;
For I would reap the yellow grain
And bind it in the sheaves;
Then die when Autumn winds complain
Among the blighted leaves.