Songs of Service. Rev. ed. ‎#a121

a121. Ben Bolt

1 Oh! don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt,
Sweet Alice whose hair was so brown,
Who wept with delight when you gave her a smile,
And trembled with fear at your frown?
In the old churchyard in the valley, Ben Bolt,
In a corner obscure and alone,
They have fitted a slab of the granite so gray,
And sweet Alice lies under the stone;
They have fitted a slab of the granite so gray,
And sweet Alice lies under the stone.

2 Under the hickory tree, Ben Bolt,
Which stood at the foot of the hill,
Together we've lain in the noonday shade,
And listen'd to Appleton's mill.
The millwheel has fallen to pieces, Ben Bolt,
The rafters have tumbled in,
And a quiet that crawls round the walls as you gaze,
Has follow'd the olden din;
And a quiet that crawls round the walls as you gaze,
Has follow'd the olden din.

3 And don't you remember the school, Ben Bolt,
With the master so kind and so true,
And the shaded nook by the running brook
Where the fairest wild flowers grow?
Grass grows on the master's grave, Ben Bolt,
The spring of the brook is dry,
And of all the boys that were schoolmates then,
There are only you and I;
And of all the boys that were schoolmates then,
There are only you and I.

4 There is change in the things I loved, Ben Bolt,
They have chang'd from the old to the new;
But I feel in the depths of my spirit the truth
there never was change in you.
Twelve months twenty times have past, Ben Bolt,
Since first we were friends, yet I hail
Thy presence a blessing, thy friendship a truth,
Ben Bolt of the salt-sea gale;
Thy presence a blessing, thy friendship a truth,
Ben Bolt of the salt-sea gale.

Text Information

• First Line: Oh! don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt
• Title: Ben Bolt
• Author: Thomas Dunn English
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1948
• Copyright: Arrangement Copyright, 1911, by The Cable Co.; Used by permission of the Cable Co., Chicago, Publisher of the "101 Best Songs"

Tune Information

• Name: [Oh! don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt]
• Composer: Nelson Kneass
• Arranger: Henry S. Sawyer
• Incipit: 33333 36554 42557
• Key: D Major
• Copyright: Arrangement Copyright, 1911, by The Cable Co.; Used by permission of the Cable Co., Chicago, Publisher of the "101 Best Songs"