"He'd nothing but his violin,
I'd nothing but my song,
But we were wed when skies were blue
And summer days were long;
And when we rested by the hedge,
The robins came and told
How they had dared to woo and win,
When early Spring was cold.
We sometimes supped on dew-berries,
Or slept among the hay,
But oft the farmers' wives at eve
Came out to hear us play;
The rare old songs, the dear old tunes, -
We could not starve for long
While my man had his violin,
And I my sweet love-song."
Mary Kyle Dallas [1837-1897]
Biographical Note: The nineteenth century American poet and author Mary Kyle Dallas was born in Philadelphia and published several novels. Her poetry often related to music, and one poem, "Brave Love," was set to music by Harry Pepper. This poem celebrates a summer romance.
Mary Kyle, the daughter of a well known artist, Joseph Kyle, married the well known Philadephian artist and illustrator Jacob A. Dallas (1825-57) in 1857 when she was only twenty. (Dallas was well known for his work on "Harpers" and other magazines.) Tragically she then suffered the double tragedy of losing her husband at the age of 32 (an attack of dysentry) eighteen months after their wedding and their only child six months after that. She did not remarry.
For most of her life she lived in New York with members of her large extended family (on Mott Street and 165th Street) and made a name for herself as an author writing short stories for The New York Ledger and Lippincotts Magazine as well as several novels including "Stockings Full of Money" which was a minor success. She died in New York from a sudden heart attack at the age of sixty and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Images
On the Web
