My Ain Countrie - Lucy Isabelle Marsh (1914)

"My Ain Countrie"

Lucy Isabelle Marsh

Victor 45183

1914

Words by Mary Lee Demarest

Music by Ione T. Hanna

I am far frae my hame, an' I'm weary aftenwhiles,
For the lang'd-for-hame-bringing, an' my Father's welcome smiles,
I'll ne'er be fu' content, until my een do see
The gow den gates of heav'n, an' my ain countrie.
The earth is fleck'd wi' flow'rs, mony-tinted-fresh and gay;
The birdies warble blithely, for my Father made them sae;
But these sichts an' these soun's wil as naething be to me,
When I hear the angels singing in my ain countrie.

I've his gude word of promise, that, some gladsome day, the King,
To his ain royal palace, his banished hame will bring
Wi' een' an' wi' heart running owre we shall see
"The King in his beauty," an' our ain countrie.
My sins hae been mony, and my sorrows hae been sair;
But there they'll never vex me, nor be remembered mair,
For his bluid hath made me white, and his hand shall dry my e'e,
When he brings me hame at last to my ain countrie.

Before “My Ain Countrie” became a hymn, it was published as a poem.

The words are by an American named Mary Augusta Lee Demarest, and they were first published in the New York Observer in December 1861.

“My Ain Countrie” is about religious longing. The “countrie” yearned for is heaven.

The speaker feels “far from my home” and “weary.”

A Scottish influence is evident in the title.

“My Ain Countrie” was Lizzie Borden's favorite song.

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Lucy Isabelle Marsh was born on April 10, 1878.