Noodling around on the guitar again one day, I had the whole musical composition just come together; BAM! (sorry Emeril!)
Anyway, I recall it was 2 years at least, and I still didn't have any lyrics for the thing. Well, my grandmother, Mamie, passed away. The natural thing to do after that was to ransack her apartment and see what was stashed in all the cupboards and drawers. (Nice, eh?)
So I stumbled on this yellowed piece of typing paper with a poem on it. It looked as though she had typed it herself, and it was marked as being written by "anonymous".
Well, it took me 2 times through it to realize it was a absolute ringer in tempo, rythm and phrasing for the song. Magic again! Thanks, Mamie!
Lyrics
I would ask of you, my darling
A question soft and low
That gives me many heartaches
As the moments come an go.
Your love I know is truthful
But the truest love grows cold
It is this that I would ask you;
Will you love me when I'm old……
Down the stream of life together
We are sailing side by side
Hoping some bright day to anchor
Far beyond the surging tide
Today our sky is cloudless
Yet the night may clouds unfold
And as storms gather around us
Will you love me when I'm old?
Our morning sun will soon be turning cold…
And the evening bells will soon be slowly tolled.
And my heart shall know no sadness with the hope I hold
The hope that you will love me when I'm old.
When my hair shall shade the snowdrift
And mine eyes shall dimmer grow
I would lean upon some loved one
Through the valley as I go
I would claim of you a promise
Worth to me a world of gold
It is only this my darling
That you'll love me when I'm old
Our morning sun will soon be turning cold…
And the evening bells will soon be slowly tolled.
And my heart shall know no sadness with the hope I hold
The hope that you will love me when I'm old.
