No. 111 O Ye Young and Gay and Proud or Eternity
Pentachordal, cannot be classified (I II III IV V — —)
O ye young and gay and proud,
You must die and wear the shroud,
Time will rob you of your bloom,
Death will drag you to the tomb.
Chorus
Then you’ll cry and want to be
Happy in eternity.
Eternity, eternity,
Happy in eternity.
The white throne will soon appear,
All the dead will then draw near.
Then you’ll go to heav’n or hell.
There you must forever dwell.
Chorus
Recorded by the author from the singing of Mrs. Elizabeth Showalter-Miller, Dayton, Virginia, Jan. 20, 1930. Further stanzas of the text and variant melodies may be found in Thomas, p. 118, and Richardson, p. 73.