Bright Sunny South

From the bright sunny south to the north, I was sent
E'er the days of my spirit, I scarcely had spent
From it's cool shady forests and deep flowing streams
Ever fond in my memory and sweet in my dreams

Where lilies are playing and roses recline,
On the snowdrop of heaven so pure and divine;
The wild cactus turns its eyes to the sun
the sweetest of flowers, its sweetness begun.

Oh land of my birth, how dear are thy plains, Thy valleys' pure streams, thy mountains in chains; Thy blue tinted sky with its sunlight even, the fairest of earth, reflecting on heaven.

Oh, my dear little sister, I still see her tears When I had to leave home in our tender years And my sweet gentle mother, so dear to my heart It grieved me sincerely when we had to part

Said my kind-hearted father as he took my hand “If you go just remember our dear native land Oh, be brave but show mercy whenever you can Our hearts will be with you, 'till you return again”

When life, shall have wasted its beauty away, Or the sweet bud of youth, be found to decay; There's one spot of earth,— with heaven as its sky, In the bright sunny south, oh there let me die.