"My Darling's Little Shoes" (1867)
A Pathetic Ballad
(with Chorus, ad lib.)
Comp'd. by Thomas Martin Towne, 1835-1912.

Copyright ©1867 by C. J. Whitney, in Michigan

1.
God bless the little feet that never go astray,
For little shoes are empty in my closet laid away,
Some time I take one in my hand, forgetting still I see
It is a little half worn shoe, not large enough for me;
And all at once I feel a sense of bitterness and pain
As sharp as when two years ago it cut my heart in twain.

CHORUS
God bless the little feet that never go astray,
For the little shoes are empty in my closet laid away.
For the little shoes are empty in my closet laid away.

2.
O, the little feet, that wearied not, I wait for them no more
For I am drifting on the tide, but they have reach'd the shore,
And while the blinding tear-drops wet these little shoes so old,
I try to think my darlings feet are treading at reels of gold,
And so I lay them down again, but always turn to say
God bless the little feet that now so surely can not stray.

(CHORUS)

3.
And while I thus am standing, I almost seem to see
Two little forms beside me, just as they used to be,
Two little faces lifted with their sweet and tender eyes;
Ah me! I might have known that look was born of Paradise.
I reach my arms out fondly, but they clasp the empty air!
There is nothing of my darlings but the shoes they used to wear.

(CHORUS)

4.
Oh! the bitterness of parting, I cannot drive away
Till I meet my darlings waiting where their feet can never stray;
When I no more am drifted upon the surging tide
But with them safely landed upon the river side;
Be patient, heart, while waitin to see their shining way
For the little feet in the golden street, can never go astray.

(CHORUS)