"I Cannot Sing To-Night" (1852)
Poetry by George F. Bannister Esq.
Music by Stephen Collins Foster, 1826-1864

1.
Kind lady, ask me not to sing
The joys other days;
Chide not my muse, though she refuse
To bask in Memory's rays.
I would that all my youthful joys
Could vanish from my sight;
For ah! my heart is very sad:
I cannot sing to-night.
I cannot, I cannot, cannot sing to-night;
For ah! my heart is very sad:
I cannot sing to night.

2.
Since last we met, ten thousand joys
Have faded from our view;
The magic of our youth has fled,
Our eyes have shed their dew,
Since last we met, ten thousand griefs
On me have spent their might;
But ah! my heart is very sad:
I cannot sing to-night.
I cannot, I cannot, cannot sing to-night;
For ah! my heart is very sad:
I cannot sing to night.