AN OLD SONG by ANONYMOUS

YOU laugh as you turn the yellow page
Of that queer old song you sing,
And wonder how folks could ever see
A charm in the simple melody
Of such an old-fashioned thing.

That yellow page was fair to view,
That quaint old type was fresh and new,
That simple strain was our delight
When here we gathered night by night,
And thought the music of our day
An endless joy to sing and play,
In our youth, long, long ago.
A joyous group we loved to meet,
When hope was high and life was sweet;
When romance shed its golden light,
That circled, in a nimbus bright,
O'er Time's unwrinkled brow.

The lips are mute that sang these words;
The hands are still that struck these chords;
The loving heart is cold.
From out the circle, one by one,
Some dear companion there has gone.
While others stay to find how true
That life has chord and discord too,
And all of us are old.

'T is not alone when music thrills,
The power of thought profound that fills
The soul! 'T is not all art!
The old familiar tones we hear
Die not upon the listening ear;
They vibrate in the heart.

And now you know the reason, dear,
Why I have kept and treasured here
This song of bygone years.
You laugh at the old-fashioned strain;
It brings my childhood back again,
And fills my eyes with tears.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...