Familiar Songs - Their Authors & Histories

300 traditional songs, inc sheet music with full piano accompaniment & lyrics.

Share page

Visit Us On FB

	392	OUR FAMILIAR SONGS.
	THE ANGEL'S WHISPER. Samuel Lover wrote a series of poems upon the superstitious fancies of the Irish people, and this song is one of them. Most of the traditions which he embodies, are common to various nations, and we are all familiar with the pretty one upon which " The Angel's Whisper" is founded. The fancy is, that when a child smiles in its sleep, angels are talking with it. Of the music, Lover says : " The song was written to an old Irish air (one of the few Moore left untouched), entitled, 'Mary, do you fancy me?' Words have been written to it, but they were ineffective, and left the air still in oblivion, while mine had better fortune, and made this charming melody widely known; and I think it may be allowed to be pardonably pleasing to an author, that it is now known by the name of ' The Angel's Whisper.'" y " J11 i—^==pj^i)]^i J 3 3 i-^m 1.    A ba - by was sleep - ing, Its moth - er was weep - ing, For her 2.   Her beads while she num - ber'd The ba - by still slum - bered, And pv {i i' r T; r —s—H-p—5—g—r—E z^p p±\pf:f^u; n-nr rfffi hus - band was far on the wild-ra-ging sea; And the tern-pest was swelling'Round the smiled in her face as she bend-ed her knee: "Oh, blessed be that warning, My fish - er - man's dwell-ing. And she cried,"Der-mot, dar-ling, oh, come back to me!" child, thy sleep a-dorn-ing, For I know that the an-gels are whispering with thee."
	A baby was sleeping, Its mother was weeping, For her husband was far on the wild-raging sea, And the tempest was swelling, 'Round the fisherman's dwelling, As she cried, " Dermot, darling, oh ! come back to me !" Her beads while she numbered, The baby still slumbered, And smiled in her face as she bended her knee : " Oh, blessed be that warning, My child, thy sleep adorning — For I know that the angels are whispering with thee.		"And while they are keeping, Bright watch o'er thy sleeping, Oh, pray to them softly, my baby, with me — And say thou would'st rather They watch o'er thy father, For I know that the angels are whispering with thee." The dawn of the morning. Saw Dermot returning, And the wife wept with joy her babe's father to see, And closely caressing Her child with a blessing, Said, " I knew that the angels were whispering with thee."