Oh, I'll twine with my mingles and waving black hair With the roses so red and the lilies so fair And the myrtle so bright with the emerald dew The pale amanita and eyes look like blue
I will dance, I will sing, and my loft shall be gay I will charm every heart, in his crown I will sway When I woke from my dreaming my idol was clay All portion of love had all flown away
Oh, he taught me to love him and promised to love And to cherish me over all others above How my heart is now wondering no misery can tell He's left me no warning, no words of farewell
Oh, he taught me to love him and called me his flower That's blooming to cheer him through life's dreary hour Oh, I long to see him and regret the dark hour He's gone and neglected this pale wildwood flower
The original lyrics to the 1860 song "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets", taken verbatim from the published sheet music (italics, recognized punctuation, and capitalization as in the original), are as follows.
I'll twine 'mid the ringlets Of my raven black hair, The lilies so pale And the roses so fair, The myrtle so bright With an emerald hue, And the pale aronatus With eyes of bright blue.
I'll sing, and I'll dance, My laugh shall be gay, I'll cease this wild weeping Drive sorrow away, Tho' my heart is now breaking, He never shall know, That his name made me tremble And my pale cheek to glow.
I'll think of him never I'll be wildly gay, I'll charm ev'ry heart And the crowd I will sway, I'll live yet to see him Regret the dark hour When he won, then neglected, The frail wildwood flower.
He told me he loved me, And promis'd to love, Through ill and misfortune, All others above, Another has won him, Ah! misery to tell; He left me in silence No word of farewell!
He taught me to love him, He call'd me his flower That blossom'd for him All the brighter each hour; But I woke from my dreaming, My idol was clay; My visions of love Have all faded away.