LORENA
(Original - Words: Rev. Henry deLafayette Webster / 
Music: Joseph Philbrick Webster - 1856)
(Revised lyrics: Charlie Williams)


Charlie Williams - 1959
Gene Gaither - 1962
Bobby Bare - 1963
Waylon Jennings - 1964
Johnny Cash - 1972

Also recorded by: Tennessee Ernie Ford; John Hartford.






ORIGINAL VERSION:

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

But the heart beats on as warmly now
As when the summer days were nigh
Oh, the sun can never dip so low 
A-down affection's cloudless sky

A hundred months have passed, Lorena
Since last I held that hand in mine
And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena
Though mine beat faster far than thine

A hundred months, 'twas flowery May
When up the hilly slope we climbed
To watch the dying of the day
And hear the distant church bells chime

We loved each other then, Lorena
Far more than we ever dared to tell
And what we might have been, Lorena
Had but our loving prospered 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 storms" 

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 even one regret
To rankle in your bosom now
For "if we try we may forget"
Were words of thine long years ago 

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

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, oh, 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


********************


COMMONLY SUNG SHORT VERSION:


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 the heart throbs on as warmly now
As when the summer days were nigh 
Oh, the sun can never dip so low 
A-down affection's cloudless sky

Oh, the sun can never dip so low
A-down affection's cloudless sky


********************


As recorded by WAYLON JENNINGS:

The years creep slowly by, Lorena
Snow is on the grass again
The Sun is sinkin' low, Lorena
Frost is where the flowers have been

The music softly plays, Lorena
Happy sounds have left the day
The music's sad and low, Lorena
Where once it rang so loud and gay

I hardly feel the cold, Lorena
I know the darkness soon will pass
We'll sing our songs again, Lorena
You'll be in my arms at last

(Instrumental Break)

The years creep slowly by, Lorena
Snow is on the grass again
The Sun is sinking low, Lorena
Frost is where the flowers have been

The music softly plays, Lorena
Happy sounds have left the day
The music's sad and low, Lorena
Where once it rang so loud and gay

I hardly feel the cold, Lorena
I know the darkness soon will pass
We'll sing our songs again, Lorena
You'll be in my arms at last
Yes, you'll be in my arms at last


********************


As recorded by JOHNNY CASH:

SPOKEN: ......the years eighteen-sixty to sixty-five, 
the history books're full of it. The sadness, the heartbreak and the songs from that period tell us of 
a sadness and of a heartbreak when the nation was torn asunder.......

The years creep slowly by Lorena
Snow is on the grass again
The Sun is sinkin' low Lorena
Frost is where the flowers have been

The music's sad and low Lorena
Happy sounds have left that day
The banjos softly play Lorena
Where once they rang so loud and gay

I hardly feel the cold Lorena
I pray this darkness soon will pass
We'll sing those songs again Lorena
You'll be in my arms at last






(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - July 2012)