"Believe Not the Tales They Have Told Thee of Me" (1835)
A Descriptive Ballad
Words by Leigh Cliffe
Music by Henry Russell, 1812-1900

[Numbers on title page are 220 and 52; on second/last page: 206]

1.
Believe not the tales they have told thee of me;
My heart beats as truly, as fondly, as free;
And though malice assail with her falsehoods my name,
Through life thou wilt find me in spirit the same. 
Ah! Believe that in me day and darkness will find
One proud in his spirit, as constant in mind.

2.
Let those who delight to inflict the sad pain
To a heart that in faith ne’er can wander again,
Know that whispering Hope, still unwilling to stray,
Has driven Despair from this bo-som a-way.
Ah! When she, in her fondness, smil’d sweetly and kind,
To the proudest in spirit, most constant in mind.

3.
Oh! mem’ry! may never thy blossoms decay,
Though tempests should sever life’s treasures away;
The past days of pleasure reflected by thee,
Are now the sole treasure the world hath left me.
Ah! Yet still one fond bosom is faithful and kind
On one proud in his spirit, as constant in mind.