Maggie

WHEN YOU AND I WERE YOUNG, MAGGIE
words by George W. Johnson; music by James Austin Butterfield
as sung by Peter Ostroushko on the CD Ostroushko/Magraw

I wander'd today to the hill, Maggie,
To watch the scene below;
The creek and the old rusty mill, Maggie,
Where we sat so long ago.

Oh, the green grove is gone from the hill, Maggie,
Where first the daisies sprung;
And the old rusty mill is still, Maggie,
Since you and I were young.

Now they say I am feeble with age, Maggie,
My steps are less sprightly than then,
And my face is a well-written face, Maggie,
And time alone was the pen.

And they say we are aged and gray, Maggie
Like spray from the white breakers flung,
But to me you're as fair as you were, Maggie,
When you and I were young.

And now we are aged and gray, Maggie,
Our time here on earth nearly done;
Let us sing of the days that are gone, Maggie,
Ah, when you and I were young.

“Schoolteacher and poet George Washington Johnson made only one contribution to the world of popular song: the lyrics to the standard "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," written for his new wife, Maggie Clark, who was ailing from tuberculosis. Born in 1839 near Toronto, Canada, Johnson studied to become a schoolteacher, and by 20 years of age he began teaching in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young teacher, he met and fell in love with Maggie Clark, who at that time was one of his students. During one of Clark's harshest struggles with her illness, Johnson composed his now famous poem to her while viewing the local mill from his perch on a nearby hill, and then published it in 1864 in his book of poetry titled Maple Leaves. Johnson and Clark were married in October of that year, but in the spring of 1865, at the young age of 23, Maggie Clark died. A year later, Johnson requested his friend, James Austin Butterfield, to set the poem to music, and the song quickly became a popular worldwide standard. George Washington Johnson married twice more and died in 1917 in Pasadena, CA.” ~ Gregory McIntosh, All Music Guide
See website Maggie Clark Homestead

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