"The First Dear Thing That Ever I Loved" (1843)
Poetry by Rev. A. C. Coxe.
(Taken by permission from his "Chirstian Ballad's")
Music by Henry Russell, 1812-1900
Thayer & Co., lithography, Boston
Price 50 cts. net.
Boston: E. H. Wade, 197 Washington St.

*Note.---The verses intended to be sung to the music
are the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 10th, 11th, and 12th.

*1. The first dear thing that ev-er I lov’d
Was a moth-er’s gen-tle eye
That smil’d as I woke on the dream-y couch
That cra-dled my in-fan-cy:
I nev-er for-get the joy-ous thrill
That smile in my spir-it stirred,
Nor how it could charm me a-gainst my will,
Till I laughed like a joy-ous bird.

*2. And the next fair thing that ev-er I lov’d
Was a bunch of sum-mer flowers,
With o-dours and hues, and love-li-ness,
Fresh as from E-den’s bowers,
I nev-er can find such hues a-gen,
Nor smell such sweet per-fume:
And if there be odours as sweet as then
’Tis I that have lost my bloom.

3. And the next dear thing that ev-er I loved
Was a fawn-like lit-tle maid,
Half pleased, half awed, by the fro-lic boy
That tor-tured her doll, and played;
I nev-er can see the goss-a-mere,
Which rude, rough zeph-yrs tease,
But I think how I tossed her floss-y locks,
With my whirl-ing bon-net’s breeze.

4. And the next good thing that ev-er I loved
Was a bow-kite in the sky;
And a lit-tle boat on the brook-let’s surf,
And a dog for my com-pan-y;
And a jing-ling hoop, with many a bound
To my meas-ured strike and true;
And a rock-et seat up to fim-a-ment,
When Ev-en was out so blue.

5. And the nest fair thing I was fond to love
Was a field of wa-vy grain,
Where the reap-ers mowed; or a ship in sail
On the bill-ow-y, bill-ow-y main;
And the next was a fier-y, pranc-ing horse,
That I felt like a man to stride;
And the next was a beau-ti-ful sail-ing boat,
With a helm it was hard to guide.

*6. And the next dear thing I was fond to love
Is tend-er-er far to tell:
’Twas a voice, and a hand, and a gen-tle eye
That dazz-led me with its spell;
And the love-li-est things I had loved be-fore
Were on-ly the land-scape now,
On the can-vass bright where I pict-ured her,
In the glow of my ear-ly vow.

7. And the next good thing I was fain to love
Was to sit in my cell a-lone,
Mus-ing o’er all these love-ly things,
For-ev-er, for-ev-er flown.
Then out I walked in the for-est free,
Where wan-toned the au-tumn wind,
And the col-ored boughs swung shiv-er-ing-ly,
In harm-on-y with my mind.

8. And a Spirit was on me that next I loved,
That rul-eth my spir-it still,
And mak-eth me mur-mur these sing-song words,
Al-be-it a-gainst my will.
And I walked the woods till the win-ter came,
And then did I love the snow;
And I heard the gales through the wild-wood aisles
Like the LORD’s own or-gan blow.

9. And the bush I had loved in my green-wood walk,
I saw it far a-way,
Sur-pliced with snows, like the bend-ing priest
That kneels in the church to pray;
And I thought of the vault-ed fane and high,
Where I stood when a lit-tle child,
Awed by the lauds sung thrill-ing-ly,
And the an-thems un-de-filed.

*10. And a-gain to the vault-ed church I went,
And I heard the same sweet prayers,
And the same full org-an-peals up-sent,
And the same soft, sooth-ing airs;
And I felt in my spir-it so drear and strange,
To think of the race I ran,
That I loved the sole thing that knew no change
In the soul of the boy and man.

*11. And the tears I wept in the wild-er-ness,
And that froze on my lids, did fall,
And melt-ed to pearls for my sin-ful-ness,
Like scales from the eyes of Paul;
And the last dear thing I was fond to love
Was that ho-ly serv-ice high,
That lift-ed my soul to joys a-bove,
And plea-sures that do not die.

*12. And then, said I, one thing there is
That I of the LORD de-sire,
That ev-er, while I on earth shall live,
I will of the LORD re-quire;
That I may dwell in his tem-ple blest
As long as my life shall be,
And the beau-ty fair of the LORD of Hosts,
In the home of his glo-ry see.