Oh My Darling, Clementine
"Oh My Darling, Clementine" is believed to have been written by Percy Montrose in 1884.
Oh My Darling, Clementine
Traditional Song
In a cavern, in a canyon
Excavating for a mine
Lived a miner forty-niner*
And his daughter, Clementine.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Light she was and like a fairy
And her shoes were number nine
Herring boxes without topses
Sandals were for Clementine.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Drove she ducklings to the water
Every morning just at nine
Hit her foot against a splinter
Fell into the foaming brine.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Ruby lips above the water
Blowing bubbles soft and fine
But, alas, I was no swimmer,
So I lost my Clementine.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
In a churchyard near the canyon
Where the myrtle doth entwine
There grow roses and the posies
Fertilized by Clementine.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Then the miner, forty-niner
Soon began to peak and pine
Thought he oughter join his daughter
Now he's with his Clementine.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
In my dreams she still doth haunt me
Robed in garments soaked in brine
Though in life I used to hug her
Now she's dead, I'll draw the line.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
How I missed her, how I missed her
How I missed my Clementine
Till I kissed her little sister
And forgot my Clementine.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling
Oh, my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Notes
*A forty-niner is a miner from the California Gold Rush of 1849.
Comments
The tune is believed to be based on an earlier song from 1863 called "Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden" by H. S. Thompson. Though Gerald Brenan in his book "South from Granada" claims the melody was originally an old Spanish ballad. According to Wikipedia, "It was made popular by Mexican miners during the California Gold Rush."
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