Spoken preface:
One dismal, stormy night in winter, a little girl—barefooted and miserably clad—leaned shivering against a large tree near the President's House. "Sissie," said a passing stranger, "Why don't you go home?" She raised her pale face and with tears dimming her eyes, answered mournfully: "I have no home. Father's a Drunkard, and Mother is dead." |
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2. We were so happy till Father drank rum,
Then all our sorrow and trouble begun;
Mother grew paler, and wept every day,
Baby and I were too hungry to play;
Slowly they faded, and one Summer's night
Found their dear faces all silent and white;
Then with big tears slowly dropping, I said:
"Father's a Drunkard, and Mother is dead."
Chorus
3. Oh! If the "Temp'rance men" only could find
Poor, wretched Father, and talk very kind
If they could stop him from drinking — why, then
I should be so very happy again!
Is it too late? "Men of Temp'rance," please try
Or poor little Bessie may soon starve and die.
All the day long I've been begging for bread —
"Father's a Drunkard, and Mother is dead!"
Chorus |
1. Out in the gloomy night, sadly I roam,
I have no Mother dear, no pleasant home;
Nobody cares for me— no one would cry
Even if poor little Bessie should die.
Barefoot and tired, I've wandered all day.
Asking for work—but I'm too small, they say;
On the damp ground I must now lay my head—
"Father's a Drunkard, and Mother is dead!"
Chorus:
Mother, oh! Why did you leave me alone,
With no one to love me, no friends and no home?
Dark is the night, and the storm rages wild,
God pity Bessie, the Drunkard's lone child!
View the published score. |
