The Old Red Cradle

This song was requested some time ago by a reader

Take me back to the days when the old cradle rocked,

In the sunshine of years that have fled,

To the good old trusty days when the door was never locked,

And we judged our neighbor’s truth by what he said.

I remember when my years I had numbered almost seven,

And the old red cradle stood against the wall,

I was youngest of the five, and two were gone to heaven,

But the old red cradle rocked us all.

Chorus

Rocking, rocking, gently rocking, in time with the tick of the clock on the wall,

One by one the seconds marking, the old red cradle rocked us all.

By its side father paused with a little time to spare,

And the care lines would soften on his brow,

Ah!  ‘Twas but a little while that I knew a father’s care,

But I fancy in my dreams I see him now,--

And if e’er there came a day when my cheeks were flushed

When I did not mind my porridge or my play, and hot,

I would clamber up its side and the pain would be forgot,

When the old red cradle rocked away.

Chorus

Aye, it cradled one and all, brothers, sisters, in it lay,

And it gave me the sweetest rest I’ve known,

But tonight the tears will flow, I let them have their way,

For the passing years are leaving me alone.

By my mother it was rocked when the evening meal was laid,

And again I seem to see her as she smiled,

When the rest were all in bed, ‘twas then she knelt and prayed

By the old red cradle and her child

Chorus

But the cradle long has gone, and the burdens that it bore,

One by one have been gathered to the fold,

But the flock is incomplete for it numbers only four,

With a dear one now left straying in the cold.

Heaven grant again we may in each other’s arms be locked

Where no bitter tears of parting ever fall.

God forbid that one be lost that the old red cradle rocked,

For the dear old cradle rocked us all.[1]

---

[1] In the February 14, 1917 issue of The New York Times, editor Anne Perrin provides the provenance for this song:

A poem called ‘The Old Red Cradle,’ written by Miss A. J. Granniss and dedicated to her mother, was set to music by J. L. Gilbert and became popular.  It was sung by Maude Beverly and also used by the male quartet in Denman Thompson’s ‘Old Homestead’ company.”