Long ago I wished to leave
The house where I was born;
Long ago I used to grieve,
My home seemed so forlorn.
In other years, its silent rooms
Were filled with haunting fears;
Now, their very memory comes
O'ercharged with tender tears.
Life and marriage I have known,
Things once deemed so bright;
Now, how utterly is flown
Every ray of light!
Mid the unknown sea of life
I no blest isle have found;
At last, throuth all its wild wave's strife,
My bark is homeward bound.
Farewell, dark and rolling deep!
Farewell, foreign shore!
Open, in unclouded sweep,
Thou glorious realm before!
Yet, thouth I had safely pass'd
That weary, vexed main,
One loved voice, throuth surge and blast,
Could call me back again.