Ten Thousand Miles Away

On the banks of a lonely river, ten thousand miles away,
I had a dear old mother whose hair had turned to gray.
Oh, blame me not for weeping, oh, blame me not I pray,
For I want to see my mother, ten thousand miles away.

I wish I were a little bird, I'd fly so far away,
To the banks of the lonely river, ten thousand miles away.
Last night, I lay a-sleeping, I dreamed a pleasant dream.
I thought I saw my mother, close by the lonely stream.
Oh, blame me not for weeping, and blame me not I pray,

For I want to see my mother, ten thousand miles away.
Today I got a letter, it's from my-sister dear.
She spoke of my dear old mother, and I wish that she were near.
They tell that she's now sleeping in a lonely new-made grave.
My poor old aged mother whose hair had turned to gray.

As years roll on before me, I'll sometimes kneel and pray.
For the banks of the lonely river, ten thousand miles away.
So blame me not for weeping, and blame me not I pray.
I miss my aged mother, ten thousand miles away.

from A Singer and Her Songs: Almeda Riddle's Book of Ballads (edited by Roger D. Abrahams, Louisiana State University Press, 1970).

MIDI tune available on request