Old and Gray, Lyric Variant 02

This item is part of the I. G. Greer Folksong Collection which consists of more than 300 individual song titles and their variants as collected by Isaac Garfield Greer (1881-1967) from informants, primarily in Ashe, Wilkes and Watauga counties. The collection includes manuscripts, typescript transcriptions produced by Dr. Greer’s clerical staff, and handwritten musical notations. Songs range from traditional Child Ballads, traditional English and Scottish ballads as well as their American variants, to 19th century popular music to musical compositions of local origin.

Folk songs--United States

Love--Songs and music

Aging--Songs and music

AC.113 Isaac Garfield (I.G.) Greer Papers and Recordings

W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University

Greer, I. G. (Isaac Garfield), 1881-1967

PDF

English

Text

Mellow Romance

Old and gray

‘Tis thee and not the roses, dear, that I have learned to love,
Though now thine eyes are bright and clear, and gentle as a dove.
Yet should thine eyes grow dim with age I’ll love thee all the way,
For ‘tis the head and not the heart that shall grow old and gray.

Chorus:
And I shall love thee more and more as years shall pass away,
We’ll know each other better, dear, when we are old and gray.

I love thy hair so bonny brown, thy smiles that just meet mine,
Thy little manners all thine own, but ‘tis because they’re thine.
And when they’re thine no longer, dear, then I can truly say,
It is the head and not the heart that has grown old and gray.

Chorus:

And when through all the changing years I see thy patient smile,
A faith that smiles e’en through its tears that nothing can beguile.
Then I shall closer cling to thee, my tongue shall truly say,
It is the head and not the heart that has grown old and gray.

Chorus:

And as we journey down the hill and near the setting sun,
The wheel just stopping in the mill, our life’s work almost done,
I’ll ask for strength to guide thee, dear, and help all the way,
For thou wilt need my love the more when we are old and gray.

Chorus:

Brown, Additional Songs - 712

113_OldAndGray_Lyric_02