Parlor Edition,
The Vocal Gems of
William Vincent Wallace's
Romantic Opera,
The Desert Flower,
arranged and transposed for parlor use.
No. 3 of 13.

"The Wood Bird's Song" (Soprano) (1867)
Words by Thomas J. Williams
Music by William Vincent Wallace, 1812-1865

New York: William Hall & Son, 543 Broadway
Plate No. 6318
[Source: 100009664@HSM/LoC]

1.
Thy blithe carol on the bough,
Lures me to the forest green;
Entranc'd I listen to thy lay,
Conceal'd amidst the trees unseen,
amidst the trees unseen.

Thy liquid trill my sense doth thrill:

True nature's child thy song so mild,
Doth fill my soul with rapture wild!

[REFRAIN sung after each verse]
La, la, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la, la,
ah! ah! ah! ah!

What strain so sweet, what song so gay,
Can equal our sweet woodbird's lay
Ah!
What strain so sweet, what song so gay,
Can equal our sweet woodbird's lay,
La, la, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la, la,
ah! ah! ah! ah!

2.
The leafy bow'r thou now dost scorn,
The azure vault of heav'n to roam;
Inconstant thou me to mourn,
That sky, not earth, is thy true home,
not earth is thy true home.

Like speck I ween, to eye scarce seen.

Still thy clear note through space doth float;
Yet sky, not earth is thy true home!