Old Black Joe

Old Black Joe or Poor Old Joe is an American parlor song composed by Stephen Foster (1826-1864) cira 1860.

Lyrics

1st verse<br />Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,<br />Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away,<br />Gone from the earth to a better land I know,<br />I hear those gentle voices calling Old Black Joe.<br />

Chorus:

I'm coming, I'm coming,

for my head is bending low,

I hear those gentle voices calling

Old Black Joe.

2nd verse<br />Why do I weep, when my heart should feel no pain,<br />Why do I sigh that my friends come not again?<br />Grieving for forms now departed long ago.<br />I hear those gentle voices calling Old Black Joe.<br />

Chorus

3rd verse<br />Where are the hearts once so happy and so free?<br />The children so dear that I held upon my knee?<br />Gone to the shore where my soul has longed to go,<br />I hear those gentle voices calling Old Black Joe.<br />

Recordings

• Jim Kweskin covered the song on his 1971 album Jim Kweskin's America

• The Kelly Family version of 1979 is included on their compilation albums of 1990s (such as The Schönsten Songs of The Kelly Family and The Very Best Of The Early Years)
• Kathy Kelly of The Kelly Family recorded the song for her 2002 album Straight From My Heart
• Patricia Kelly of The Kelly Family recorded the......
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