Lyrics of the Hearthside
To a Lady Playing the Harp
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Thy tones are silver melted into sound,
Thy tones are silver melted into sound,
I am the mother of sorrows,
Ebnezer awakes on Christmas morning a changed man.
"Ring out, ye bells!, All Nature swells"
"Men may sing of their Havanas, elevating to the stars"
"Hain’t you see my Mandy Lou,"
"W’en de clouds is hangin’ heavy in de sky,"
"These are the days of elfs and fays:"
WHILE others chant of gay Elysian scenes,
I sit upon the old sea wall,
The speaker questions the fleeting nature of life and beauty, but discovers there is more to consider.
"Place this bunch of mignonette"
This poem descibes youth and beauty using nature as a metaphor.
How like a winter hath my absence been
"Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass,"
"I ‘ve been watchin’ of ‘em, parson,"
A celebration of Florida's tropic climate.
"Darling, my darling, my heart is on the wing,"
"Oh, the poets may sing of their Lady Irenes,"
A child’s poem about subtraction.
"I done got ‘uligion, honey, an’ I ’s happy ez a king;"
Oh for the breath of the briny deep,
A nonsensical nursery rhyme.
Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner. Marley's ghost warns Ebenezer to expect three more visitors.
The author poses several questions to the reader.