The Ol' Tunes

You kin talk about yer anthems     An' yer arias an' sich,     An' yer modern choir-singin'     That you think so awful rich;     But you orter heerd us youngsters     In the times now far away,     A-singin' o' the ol' tunes     In the ol'-fashioned way.     There was some of us sung treble     An' a few of us growled bass,     An' the tide o' song flowed smoothly     With its 'comp'niment o' grace;     There was spirit in that music,     An' a kind o' solemn sway,     A-singin' o' the ol' tunes     In the ol'-fashioned way.     I remember oft o' standin'     In my homespun pantaloons--     On my face the bronze an' freckles     O' the suns o' youthful Junes--     Thinkin' that no mortal minstrel     Ever chanted sich a lay     As the ol' tunes we was singin'     In the ol'-fashioned way.     The boys 'ud always lead us,     An' the girls 'ud all chime in     Till the sweetness o' the singin'     Robbed the list'nin' soul o' sin;     An' I used to tell the parson     'T was as good to sing as pray,     When the people sung the ol' tunes     In the ol'-fashioned way.     How I long ag'in to hear 'em     Pourin' forth from soul to soul,     With the treble high an' meller,     An' the bass's mighty roll;     But the times is very diff'rent,     An' the music heerd to-day     Ain't the singin' o' the ol' tunes     In the ol'-fashioned way.     Little screechin' by a woman,     Little squawkin' by a man,     Then the organ's twiddle-twaddle,     Jest the empty space to span,--     An' ef you should even think it,     'T is n't proper fur to say     That you want to hear the ol' tunes     In the ol'-fashioned way.     But I think that some bright mornin',     When the toils of life air o'er,     An' the sun o' heaven arisin'     Glads with light the happy shore,     I shall hear the angel chorus,     In the realms of endless day,     A-singin' o' the ol' tunes     In the ol'-fashioned way.