THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME
Sung by: Mrs. W.B. Apple
Recorded on 7/20/62

 Click here to listen to the original recording
(Comment by Mrs. Apple: "Well, I think this is the oldest song I know. It's called, 'The Girl I Left Behind Me.' I don't know who wrote it, but it was originally known as 'Brighten's Camp,' and the song dates back to 1760. It goes like this.")

I'm lonesome since I crossed the hill,
And o'er the moor and valley.
Such heavy hearts my thoughts do fill
Since parting with my Sally.
I see no more the fine and gay,
For each does but remind me
How swift the hours did pass away
With the girl I left behind me.

Oh, ne'er shall I forget the night;
The stars were bright above me,
And gently lent their silvery light
When first she vowed she loved me,
But now I'm bound to Brighten's camp;
Kind heaven may favor find me,
And send me safely back again
To the girl I've left behind me.

The bee shall honey taste no more.
The dove become a ranger,
The dashing waves shall cease to roar
Ere she's to me a stranger.
The vows we registered up above
Shall ever cheer and bind me
In constancy to her I love,
The girl I've left behind me.

My mind her form shall still retain
In sleeping or in waking,
Until I see my love again,
For whom my heart is breaking.
If ever I should see the day
When Marshall have resigned me,
Forevermore I'll gladly stay
With the girl I left behind me.

(Comment by Dr. Wolf: "I didn't have that version.")

Also found in Randolph, Vol. III, #546.

All Songs Recorded by John Quincy Wolf, Jr., unless otherwise noted

The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection
Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas
Back to the Song Index
Back to the Wolf Collection Homepage
©Copyright 2002 Lyon College