I Wish the War Was O'er!

Melody - "Auld Lang Syne"; Seq. by Barry Taylor

A. Anderson, 1862

The wish, the all absorbing wish,
It sounds from every door,
From old and young, and middle age,
The rich as well the poor.
It lights upon my list'ning ear,
While on my daily tour,
The theme, the only theme I hear,
"I wish the war was o'er."

2. The wish is borne on every breeze,
On every passing hour,
Oft as the swinging pendlum ticks,
I wish the war was o'er.
The tears, the sighs, the flowing blood;
The crimsoned fields of gore,
Extort the cry from burdened hearts,
"I wish the war was o'er."

3. The wish, it fills ten thousand hearts,
Thousands of thousands more,
Millions in concert now exclaim,
I wish the war was o'er.
The wish is borne on "Eagles' wings"
Echoes from shore to shore,
From centre to circumference rings,
"I wish the war was o'er."

4. The wish, it fills a nations heart,
It swells the nation's breast,
It flows and ebbs to flow again,
Restless, it seeks for rest;
The wish enough to move a world,
A lever strong to move,
But not a fulcrum yet is found,
To o'erthrow this weighty load.

From Civil War Song Sheets, Series 1, Volume 2.

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