1 In the fair sunny South where my childhood days were pass,
Stands a vacant cottage by the hill;
Where I once used to play when were o'er the wintry blasts,
And air our happy songs did fill.

Refrain:
Oh, I sigh all in vain for those happy childhood days,
But I know they'll never come again;
I will cherish for thee fondest tho'ts thro' all life's ways,
And thy theme shall be my gladdest strain.

2 O my sweet childhood home, I will e'er remember thee,
Tho' I am so far away today;
There my father and mother, so near and dear to me,
Sleeps beneath that precious sacred clay. [Refrain]

3 How I've longed to behold that dear childhood home again,
And enjoy it as I did of yore;
There to sing, play, and run, over woodland, field, and plain,
But I know that day will come no more. [Refrain]