I hear a distant melody,
And years come crowding back to me,
Thro' vistas dim of memory,
As ships to haven from the sea;

Each freighted with the dreams of youth,
And moor them in the restless bay
About my heart a while, and then
Each sails away — so far away!

I hear it ever;
It ceases never;
On land and sea
It follows me,

So soft and low and far away,
Like echoes dying in the folded hills.
I hear it there, go where I may,
A cure for all the sad heart's ills.

I hear a distant melody,
And years come crowding back to me,
Thro' vistas dim of memory,
As ships to haven from the sea;

Each freighted with the dreams of youth,
And moor them in the restless bay
About my heart a while, and then
Each sails away — so far away!
I hear it ever;
It ceases never;
On land and sea
It follows me,

So soft and low and far away,
Like echoes dying in the folded hills.
I hear it there, go where I may,
A cure for all the sad heart's ills.