To my friend, Ed. Jollie Esq.
"The Old House Far Away" (1876)
Words by Edward Fitzgerald
Music by Henry Tucker

1.
The wild birds warble, the sparkling rills
Wing cheerily round the spot.
And the peacefule shade of the ancient hills
Falls down on my mother's cot;
Its windows are small, and the thatch is low,
And its walls are a dingy gray;
In fancy I see it wherever I go:
That old house far away,
In fancy I see it wherever I go:
That old house far away.

CHORUS
The "Old House" far away,
The Old House far away,
In fancy I see it wherever I go:
That Old House far away.

2.
The little clock ticks on the parlor wall,
Recording the passing hours,
And the pet geranium grown rank and tall
With its brilliant scarlet flowers;
And the old arm chair so cosy and low,
Where mother sits kniting all day,
In fancy I see it wherever I go:
That old house far away,
In fancy I see it wherever I go:
That old house far away.

(CHORUS)
 
3.
Dear mother! how I plainly I see her now,
Reclining in that old chair,
With the sunset resting upon her brow,
That once was so smooth and fair.
I see her cap border as white as snow,
And her once dark hair now gray;
My heart it is with her wherever I go:
In the old house far away.
My heart it is with her wherever I go:
That old house far away,

(CHORUS)