Digital Tradition Mirror

The Vacant Chair (We Shall Meet But We Shall Miss Him)

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Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

The Vacant Chair (We Shall Meet But We Shall Miss Him)
(Words: Henry S. Washburn, Music: George F. Root)

We shall meet, but we shall miss him
There will be one vacant chair
We shall linger to caress him
While we breathe our evening prayer;
     When a year ago we gathered
     Joy was in his mild blue eye,
     But a golden chord is severed
     And our hopes in ruin lie.

cho: We shall meet, but we shall miss him
     There will be one vacant chair
     We shall linger to caress him
     While we breathe our evening prayer;

At our fireside, sad and lonely,
Often will the bosom swell,
At remembrance of the story
How our noble Willie sell;
     How he strove to bear our banner
     Through the thickest of the fight,
     And uphold our country's honor
     In the strength of manhood's night.

True, they tell us wreaths of glory
Ever more will deck his brow,
But this soothes the anguish only
Sweeping o'er our heartstrings now.
     Sleep today, Oh early fallen,
     In thy green and narrow bed,
     Dirges from the pine and cypress,
     Mingle with the tears we shed.

RG
                                                 apr96

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!