Darby and Joan

Frederic Edward Weatherly (1848–1929)

DARBY, dear, we are old and gray,

Fifty years since our wedding day,

Shadow and sun for every one

As the years roll on;

Darby, dear, when the world went wry,

Hard and sorrowful then was I—

Ah! lad, how you cheered me then,

Things will be better, sweet wife again!

Always the same, Darby, my own,

Always the same to your old wife Joan.

Darby, dear, but my heart was wild

When we buried our baby child,

Until you whispered “Heav’n knows best!”

And my heart found rest;

Darby, dear, ’t was your loving hand

Showed the way to the better land—

Ah! lad, as you kissed each tear,

Life grew better, and Heaven more near.

Always the same, Darby, my own,

Always the same to your old wife Joan.

Hand in hand when our life was May,

Hand in hand when our hair is gray,

Shadow and sun for every one,

As the years roll on;

Hand in hand when the long night-tide

Gently covers us side by side—

Ah! lad, though we know not when,

Love will be with us forever then:

Always the same, Darby, my own,

Always the same to your old wife Joan.