“I Onct Was Young”

Description

"I onct was young but now I'm old, Am blind, but yet I have a soul, That soul to save... Or else sink down to endless woe." "My threescore years is at an end." "I have three sons before me gone... By faith through prayer we'll win the day."

Supplemental text

I Onct Was Young
  Partial text(s)

          *** A ***

From Dorothy Scarborough, A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains,
pp. 40-41. Collected from "Grandma Bell" in Buchanan County.

I onct was young but now I'm old
  Am blind, but yet I have a soul
That soul to save and that you know
  Or else sink down to endless woe.

(2 additional stanzas)

Notes

Reportedly composed by the uncle of Grandma Bell on his deathbed. There are quite a few hints of older songs, though; I suspect he adapted rather than wrote. And, yes, that's "onct" in the title. - RBW

References

1. Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 40-41, (no title) (1 text)
2. ST ScaSC040 (Partial)
3. Roud #8814
4. BI, ScaSC040