"Oh Why Should We Bewail the Dead" (c1830s)
Sacred Song
Words by Charles Mackay, Esqr., 1814-1889
The Music Composed & Dedicated
to L. B. Swan,
by Henry Russell, 1812-1900

New York, NY: Firth & Hall, No. 1 Franklin Square
[Source: 175/156@Levy]

1.
Ah why should we bewail the dead,
Why sorrow o'er their narrow bed.
Have they not sought the happy shore,
Where human cares oppress no more.

Bewail them not! more blest than we,
From mortal woes and anquish free,
Their parted spirits rest in peace,
In the still land where troubles cease.

2.
Bewail them not! there bright abode
Is with a Father and a God;
Freed from corruption's cold embrace,
They see th'Al-migh-ty face to face.

Then weep not for the quiet dead,
Nor sorrow o'er their narrow bed;
For in the land where troubles cease,
Their parted spirits rest in peace.