From The Boston Melodeon, Volume 3 By B. F. Baker & L. H. Southard (Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., 1850), page 12—where the tune appears in 4-part harmony:


THE SILVER MOON.
"Words partly written, and music arranged, by J. W. Turner."

1. As I strayed from my cot, at the close of the day,
To muse on the beauties of June,
'Neath a jessamine shade I espied a fair maid,
And she sadly complained to the moon:

CHORUS: Roll on, silver moon, guide the trav'ler his way,
While the nightingale's song is in tune;
I never, never more with my true love will stray,
By the sweet silver light of the moon.

2. As the hart on the mountain, my lover was brave,
So handsome and manly to view;
So kind and sincere, and he loved me most dear;
O Edwin, no love was more true.

3. But now he is dead, and the youth once so gay
Is cut down like a rose in full bloom;
And he silently sleeps, and I'm thus left to weep
By the sweet silver light of the moon.

4. But his grave I'll seek out, until morning appears,
And weep for my lover so brave;
I'll embrace the cold earth, and bedew with my tears
The flowers that bloom o'er his grave.

5. O, never again can my heart throb with joy.
My lost one I hope to meet soon;
And kind friends will weep o'er the grave where we sleep,
By the sweet silver light of the moon.