I went out West with but a dream that I was Mary’s beau.
I’ve journeyed East, I’ve journeyed West—I’ve had my hour of life.
I’ve lingered in the pleasant ways—I’ve faced the storm and strife.
Fame, wealth, have missed me and yet they will envy me I know,
Those days back in the golden years—when I was Mary’s beau.
No, no, dear wife, deny me not these fair old dreams of youth,
You well may smile, for life has taught the patience and the truth.
Time tried, long tested, up the hill we’ve journeyed side by side,
Or drifted in the ebb and flow of fortune’s fateful tide.
The years may come, the years may go, yet love will find the test.