To my Sister Etta
"Sweet Echo Dell" (1876)
---------------
Three sons of a New England widow had long toiled to the Land
of Gold, when this message reached them: "Come and see your
mother before she dies!" They started immediately, but while
crossing the Sierra Nevada the youngest became ill, and in a
hours breathed his last. He was buried in a lovely spot, near
the summit. The mother lived long enough to greet her
surviving sons; but her mind wandered, and she never fully
realized that Willie had gone before.
---------------
Words and Music by Henry Clay Work, No. 51

1.
"Three there were that left my cot;
Two are here, and one is not;
Why does Willie linger? Say, can you tell?"

[If preferred, the last half of each stanza may be sung by
another voice]
"He was weary by the way;
When we came he could but stay
In the shady grove at Sweet Echo Dell."

CHORUS
Echo Dell! (Echo Dell!) Echo Dell! (Echo Dell!)
It was there we softly said "Farewell!" ("Farewell!")
And the towering granite crest
Nobly guards his place rest,
Near the lovely lake of Sweet Echo Dell.

2.
"Is he laden well with gold?
Does he bring me wealth untold?
Why then does he linger? Say can you tell?"

[If preferred, the last half of each stanza may be sung by
another voice]
"All his treasures are above;
All he sent you was his love,
With a whispered prayer from Sweet Echo Dell."

(CHORUS)

3.
"Coming homeward, does he sing
Like a lark upon the wing?
Why then does he linger? Say, can you tell?"

[If preferred, the last half of each stanza may be sung by
another voice]
Naught is heard but rippling waves,
Warbling birds, and shouting braves;
Silent is his voice in Sweet Echo Dell."

(CHORUS)

4.
"Is he coming by-and-by?
May I bless him ere I die?
Why then does he linger? Say, can you tell?"

[If preferred, the last half of each stanza may be sung by
another voice]
"Mirrored in that mountain lake,
Heaven is near, and he will wake
Never elsewhere than in Sweet Echo Dell."

(CHORUS)

5.
"Would you crush my only joy?
Surely I shall meet my boy;
When then does he linger? Say, can you tell?"

[If preferred, the last half of each stanza may be sung by
another voice]
"Never will his weary feet
Travel more, yet may soon meet
When your soul floats over Sweet Echo Dell."

(CHORUS)