Little May

Authors

R.H. Stoddard Esq.
August Mignon

Document Type

Score

Publication Date

1856

Comments

Little May

Words by R.H. Stoddard, Esq.

Music by Auguste Mignon

Philapelphia: Beck & Lawton (1856)

Some of these resources may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes. Such materials should be seen in the context of the time period and as a reflection of attitudes of the time. The items are part of the historical record, and do not represent the views of the library or the institution.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

I’ve lost my little May at last!
She perished in the spring,
When earliest flow’rs began to bud,
And earliest birds to sing;
I laid her in a country grave,
A rural, soft, retreat,
A marble tablet at her head,
And violets at her feet.

[Verse 2]

I would that she was back again,
In all her childish bloom;
My joy and hope have followed her,
My heart is in the tomb!
I know that she is gone away,
I know that she is fled!
I miss her everywhere, and yet
I cannot make her dead!

[Verse 3]

I wake the children up at dawn,
And say a simple prayer,
And draw them round the morning meal,
But one is wanting there!
I see a little chair apart,
A little pinafore,
And memory fills the vacancy,
As time will never more!

[Verse 4]

I sit within my room and write,
The lone and weary hours;
And miss the little maid again
Among the window flowers;
And miss her with the toys beside
My desk in silent play;
And then I turn and look for her,
But she has flown away.

[Verse 5]

I drop my idle pen and hark
And catch the faintest sound;
She must be playing hide and seek
In shady nooks around;
She’ll come and climb my chair again,
And peep my shoulder o’er;
I hear a stifled laugh, but no,
She cometh never more!

[Verse 6]

I waited only yesternight,
The evening service read,
And lingered for my idol’s kiss,
Before she went to bed;
Forgetting she had gone before,
In slumbers soft and sweet;
A monument above her head,
And violets at her feet.

Recommended Citation

Stoddard, R.H. Esq. and Mignon, August, "Little May" (1856). Historic Sheet Music Collection. 853.
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sheetmusic/853