The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #92830 Message #1781493
Posted By: Jim Dixon
11-Jul-06 - 11:09 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Forget Me Not (autograph-book verses)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: were did the poem/lyrics,for get me not
Your first two lines were frequently used in autograph books.
This is the oldest version I can find:
When the golden sun is setting
And your mind from care is free,
When of others you are thinking,
Will you sometimes think of me?
--from Charlotte Beckim's Autograph Album, 1892. (That site has an image of the handwritten verse.)
I also found numerous variations at other web sites:
1. When the golden [or "glorious"] sun is setting [or "sinking"],
[Or "When in the west the sun is setting"]
2. And your mind from care is free [or "set free"],
[Or "O'er the western sea,"]
3. When [or "While" or "And"] of others you are thinking,
[Or "When of absent ones you're thinking"]
[Or "When of loved ones you are thinking"]
[Or "And you are thinking of your loved ones,"]
[Or "When of over a thousand things you're thinking,"]
[Or "When of ten thousand things you're thinking,"]
4. Will [or "Won't" or "Do"] you sometimes [or "kindly"] think of me?
[Or "And then will you not remember me?"]
[Or "Will you remember me?"]
[1-4. Or "When the golden sun is setting
In the far and distant west,
While of others you are thinking,
Think of one who loves you best."]
I never found an instance where these lines seemed to be part of a longer poem.