by John Brougham (1814 - 1880)
My angel boy, I cannot see thee die
Language: English
My Angel boy, thou'rt nearing fast The end of thy brief race; Already death's dark wing hath cast Its shadow o'er thy face. Must thy ethereal spirit seek So soon its native sky? Still paler grows thy beauteous cheek I cannot see thee die, My angel boy, my angel boy, I cannot see thee die. Thou, only tie that binds my soul To earth and bids me live, Thou, only thought that comfort now, Or future hope can give, Thou, sole pride of my widowed heart, Thou joyous beam to mine eye, Ah! must thou from thy mother part? I cannot see thee die, My angel boy, my angel boy, I cannot see thee die. I meekly bow before thy throne, Oh! God, nor dare repine; For thou hast but recalled thine own, H is no longer mine. Oh! If it be thy gracious will, We soon shall meet on high, For me there's hope, there's comfort still: The spirit cannot die, My angel boy, my angel boy, Thy spirit cannot die.
Authorship:
- by John Brougham (1814 - 1880) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864), "My angel boy, I cannot see thee die", published 1858. [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2015-12-26
Line count: 27
Word count: 172