When You And I Were Young Maggie Video (MV)

George W. Johnson and James Austin Butterfield)

Verse 1
I wander'd today to the hill, Maggie,
To watch the scene below;
The creek and the old rusty mill, Maggie,
Where we sat in the long, long ago.
The green grove is gone from the hill, Maggie,
Where first the daisies sprung;
The creaking old mill is still, Maggie,
Since you and I were young.

Chorus:
And now we are aged and gray, Maggie,
And the trials of life nearly done;
But to me you're as fair as you were, Maggie,
When you and I were young.

Verse 2
A city so silent and lone, Maggie,
Where the young and the gay and the best,
In polished white mansions of stone, Maggie,
Have each found a place of rest,
Is built where the birds used to play, Maggie,
And join in the songs that were sung;
For we sang as gay as they, Maggie,
When you and I were young.

Verse 3
They say I am feeble with age, Maggie,
My steps are less sprightly than then;
My face is a well-written page, Maggie,
But time alone was the pen.
They say we are aged and gray, Maggie,
As spray by the white breakers flung;
But to me you're as fair as you were, Maggie
When you and I were young.
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Published 1866, now in public domain
Source verse 3:
The Fireside Book of Favorite American Songs, p.183.
"The song is a true story of Maggie Clark, who lived
in Canada and was courted by her schoolteacher,
George W. Johnson." (there is more,ref.-HH14