Full forty years have fled away
Since first we hailed the wedding day,
And I've been blest, as well I may,
With Anna.
Though thou wert young, and tender too,
When first I sought thy heart to woo,
Thou'st never been unkind, untrue,
My Anna.
If bent with sickness, woe, or care,
Who offered up the sigh, the prayer,
Or proved a watchful angel there?
My Anna.
The stream of life may roughly glide,
And I in anguish may be tried;
I'll not repine, if by my side
Is Anna.
When dwindling from me one by one,
My num'rous sunshine friends were gone,
Who lingered still and loved me on?
My Anna.
Whilst others live in jarring strife,
We pass a calm, contented life—
I daily bless my matchless wife,
My Anna.
O, never can affliction move
The depth, the truth of woman's love!
For grief and pain would only prove
My Anna.
And when the closing hour draws near
In which I quit this earthly sphere,
I'll die repeating to her ear,
My Anna!