OLD BROWNSTONE IN BROOKLYN
(Willard Robison)


Teresa Brewer - 1963



When folks are loudly singing
'Bout the place of their upbringin'
I have a few thoughts of my own

Proudly I start praisin'
The street of my upraisin'
And memories I've never outgrown

Can't forget that family group
That used to gather round the stoop
Of that old brownstone in Brooklyn

They were kind and they were good
In that old neighbourhood
Of that old brownstone in Brooklyn

Heaven seemed to bless our warm togetherness
When hard times come a-knockin' at our door
Mine was no Mother Hubbard, but she had a full cupboard
For Papa owned the corner grocery store

In my travels far and wide, many lonely nights I've cried
With a longin' no poet can define
For that old brownstone in Brooklyn
And those family lovin' folks of mine

From way up on the Heights
We'd watch the harbour lights
And the lady that promised liberty

As we took many dream trips
On those gay coloured steamships
Headed for the wide and open sea

Although I've found success, I'd trade it all I guess
To relive those days of long, long ago
Round that old brownstone in Brooklyn
With those family lovin' folks I used to know

Round that old brownstone in Brooklyn
With those family lovin' folks I used to know
(Old brownstone of mine)



(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - May 2019)