That we may remember the loved who are gone,
and be remembered by those who are here.
To Mrs. Gertrude C. Bennett.
"Softly Sing, Love" (c1864)
[Copyright filed 30 Dec. 1863]
Song and Chorus
Words by Sanford Fillmore Bennett, 1836-1898
Music by Joseph Philbrick Webster, 1819-1875

[Source: Plate 353-4, Chicago: Root & Cady]

1.
O sing to me as when of old
I listened by your chair,
And envied e'en the sunset gold,
That nestled in your hair.
Sing softly, love; five golden years
Have dawned since those sweet hours:
The path we entered on with fears,
Has proved a walk of flowers.

QUARTETTE
Sing softly, love, sing softly,
Sweet are the hours that fly
While you and I together sit
As in the days gone by.

2.
I gaze into your earnest eyes,
The lovelight slumbers there,
As in an angel's bosom lies
The yet unuttered prayer.
My soul is kneeling as of old
A pilgrim at love's shrine;
To thee I tell the tale oft told
By lovers' lips ere mine.

(QUARTETTE)

3.
The south wind softly hastens by,
A murmur, as of prayer,
Seems wafting from the sunny sky,
And fills the slumbrous air;
I know the hand that rests in mine
Shall lead me hence for aye,
As in our merry marriage time,
It led my heart away.

(QUARTETTE)