The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #62747 Message #1015261
Posted By: Stewie
09-Sep-03 - 04:17 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: You'll Never Miss Your Mother Till ...
Subject: Lyr Add: YOU'LL NEVER MISS YOUR MOTHER TILL ...
The earliest recording was by Fiddlin' John Carson (1923):
YOU'LL NEVER MISS YOUR MOTHER TILL SHE'S GONE
1. Years ago when [I was] but a boy
Singing songs was mother's joy
When our father dear would leave us all alone
I can hear her voice so sweet
As she sang, 'When shall we meet?'
You will never miss your mother until she's gone
CHORUS: My mother she was true
To her children and her home
She was kind and true and loved us all
[It] was her hand that touched my brow
I can almost feel it now
You will never miss your mother until she's gone.
2. Father he was good and kind
Told us we would never find
One who would cure our ills and all
I praise God for her sweet name
For she's always just the same
You will never miss your mother until she's gone. CHORUS
3. Now I'm so far away
From my home I've gone astray
My mother's often prayed for me at home
Troubles, trials to endure
[I] ought to live a life that's pure
And meet my mother in her home. CHORUS
Source: transcription in Gene Wiggins 'Fiddlin' Georgia Crazy' Uni of Illinois Press pp 261-262. Fiddlin' John Carson 'You Will Never Miss Your Mother Until She's Gone' recorded on 7 November 1923 in NYC and issued as Okeh 4994. Reissued on Fiddlin' John Carson 'Complete Recorded Works Vol I' Document DOCD-8014. Carson recorded the song 3 times - 1923, 1927 and 1934. The text is similar to recordings by Riley Puckett, G.B. Grayson and George Reneau. Wiggins noted that the 'second strophe may be considered a chorus or just a favourite stanza. In the 3 Carson recordings, it was repeated more than the others, but was not uniformly alternated with them.
--Stewie.