Ash Grove

The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly `tis speaking
The wind [harp] through it playing has language for me
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking
A host of kind faces is gazing on me
The friends of my childhood again are before me
Each step wakes a memory as freely I roam
With soft whispers laden its leaves rustle o`er me
The ash grove, the ash grove again [alone] is my home

My laughter is over, my step loses lightness
Old countryside measures steal soft on my ear;
I only remember the past and its brightness
The dear ones I mourn [long] for again gather here
From out of the shadows their loving looks greet me
And wistfully searching the leafy green dome
I find other faces fond bending to greet me
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home

My lips smile no more, my heart loses its lightness
No dream of my future my spirit can cheer;
I only can brood on the past and its brightness
The dead I have mourned are again living here
From ev`ry dark nook they press forward to meet me;
I lift up my eyes to the broad leafy dome
And others are there looking downward to greet me;
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home