"Lorena" Civil War song LYRICS "The years creep slowly by, Lorena." words by Rev. Henry D.L. Webster

"Lorena" is a song popular during the Civil War

Metropolitan Quartet on Edison Blue Amberol 2400

Recorded in 1914

Words by Rev. Henry De Lafayette Webster

Music by Joseph Philbrick Webster

Published by H. M. Higgins

The names are confusing. Sometimes you see just the initials for Joseph Philbrick Webster (1819-1875) and H. D. L. Webster (1824-1896), whose full name is Henry De Lafayette Webster.

The lyrics were written in 1856 by Rev. Henry D. L. Webster, after a broken engagement. He wrote a long poem about his fiancée Ella Blocksom, but changed her name at first to "Bertha" and later to "Lorena"--was he influenced by Poe's "Lenore"?

Henry Webster's friend Joseph Philbrick Webster wrote the music.

The song was published in Chicago in 1857. It became a favorite of soldiers of both sides during the American Civil War.

The years creep slowly by, Lorena.
The snow is on the grass again.
The sun's low down the sky, Lorena.
The frost gleams where the flowers have been.

But my heart beats on as warmly now
As when the summer days were nigh.
The sun can never dip so low
Or down affections cloudless sky.

The story of that past, Lorena--
Alas, I care not to repeat.
The hopes that could not last, Lorena--
They lived but only lived to cheat.

I would not cause them one regret
To rankle in your bosom now.
"For if we try, we may forget"--
Were words of thine long years ago



______________________

1. The years creep slowly by, Lorena
The snow is on the grass again
The sun’s low down the sky, Lorena
The frost gleams where the flow´rs have been
But the heart throbs on as warmly now
As when the summer days were nigh
Oh! the sun can never dip so low
Adown affection’s cloudless sky
The sun can never dip so low
Adown affection’s cloudless sky

2. A hundred months have pass’d, Lorena
Since last I held that hand in mine
And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena
Tho’ mine beat faster far than thine
A hundred months, ’twas flow’ry May
When up the hilly slope we climbed
To watch the dying of the day
And hear the distant church bells chimed
To watch the dying of the day
And hear the distant church bells chimed

3. We loved each other then, Lorena
More than we ever dared to tell
And what we might have been, Lorena
Had but our lovings prosper’d well
But then, ’tis past the years are gone
I’ll not call up their shadowy forms
I’ll say to them, “Lost years, sleep on!
Sleep on! nor heed, life’s pelting storm.”
I’ll say to them, “Lost years, sleep on!
Sleep on! nor heed, life’s pelting storm.”

4. The story of that past, Lorena
Alas! I care not to repeat
The hopes that could not last, Lorena
They lived, but only lived to cheat
I would not cause e’en one regret
To wrankle in your bosom now
For “if we try, we may forget,”
Were words of thine long years ago
For “if we try, we may forget,”
Were words of thine long years ago

5. Yes, these were words of thine, Lorena
They burn within my memory yet
They touched some tender chords, Lorena
Which thrill and tremble with regret
’Twas not thy woman’s heart that spoke
Thy heart was always true to me
A duty stern and pressing, broke
The tie which linked my soul with thee
A duty stern and pressing, broke
The tie which linked my soul with thee

6. It matters little now, Lorena
The past is in the eternal Past
Our heads will soon lie low, Lorena
Life’s tide is ebbing out so fast
There is a Future! O thank God
Of life this is so small a part
’Tis dust to dust beneath the sod
But there, up there, ’tis heart to heart
’Tis dust to dust beneath the sod
But there, up there, ’tis heart to heart

Edward Dolph colleced soldier songs in the book "Sound Off." Page 335 says this about the song "Lorena": "Dr. John Allan Wyeth tells of the following incident, which occurred while Morgan's cavalry was returning from a raid in 1862. 'Our spirits were high. As we passed a home of the Trappist Brotherhood, Lieutenant Frank Brady entertained us by singing "Lorena," a war-time poem which had been set to music and was then very popular. He told us that the author of the poem was an inmate of this Trappist home. If this were so and the self-imprisoned brother heard the sweet voice of the cavalier as he sang "The years creep slowly by, Lorena," what sad and tender memories it must have awakened!'"




"Lorena" Civil War song LYRICS "The years creep slowly by, Lorena." words by Rev. Henry D.L. Webster