To Little Mattie.
"The Footstep on the Stair" (1875)
Song & Chorus
[NOTE: Chorus not included ???]
Words and Music by
William Shakespeare Hays, 1837-1907
[NOTE: title page credits Allan Percy ???]

New York: J. L. Peters, 843 Broadway, Plate No. 7853-3.
[Source: 14155@LoC]

1.
I have very many treasures
That my heart has hid away;
There's a little curl that's brighter
Than the sunshine of the day;
And a little shoe that's faded,
Is among my treasures there.
And I listen when I see it,
For a footstep on the stair;
For the patter, patter, patter,
Of a footstep on the stair.

2.
Now those little feet are silent,
And the face is hidden low
Underneath the meadow grasses,
And the daisie's fragrant snow;
And I miss them in the morning,
Patt'ring feet and face so fair,
But I listen most at bedtime
For the footstep on the stair,
But I listem most at bedtime
For the footstep on the stair.

3.
Then she'd come and kneel beside me
In her little gown of white,
And she'd say her short pray'r over,
And would kiss me sweet goodnight
Still I listen in the twilight,
Tho' I know she is not there,
And I cannot still my yearning
For the footstep on the stair,
For the patter, patter, patter
Of a footstep on the stair.