To Miss Caroline Sanders,
Of Dayton, Ohio.
"Oh! Spare the Old Homestead" (1855)
Written by Sidney Dyer.
Music by Joseph Philbrick Webster, 1819-1875.

1.
Oh! spare, spare the old homestead,
  Nor ruthlessly part,
The ties that have bound it,
  So long to my heart,
When wand'ring and weary,
  And burdened with care,
A bright spot of sunshine,
  Still beams for me there,

[REFRAIN]
Then spare, spare the old homestead,
  'Tis dear to me yet,
The home of my childhood,
  I never never can forget.

2.
Oh spare, spare the old homestead,
  Twas there I first knew,
The love of my mother,
  Still changeless and true,
A father's, a brother's,
  A lov'd sister's care,
Oh there are the mem[']ries,
  That beam on me there,

([REFRAIN])

3.
Oh spare, spare the old homestead;
  Though moss overgrown,
It's halls are deserted,
  Decaying alone,
Yet back to its hearth-stone,
  My heart will repair,
As though its warm greetings,
  Still welcomed me there.

([REFRAIN])

4.
Oh spare, spare the old homestead
  Till that pensive hour,
When age makes me weary,
  And life yields its power!
Then bear me when fainting,
  To breathe its sweet air,
And die 'mid the sunshine,
  That beams on my there.

([REFRAIN])