quote · Legacy record
I lay in sorrow, deep distressed: My grief a proud man heard; His looks were cold, he gave me gold, But not a kindly word. My sorrow passed,—I paid him back The gold he gave to me; Then stood erect and spoke my thanks, And blessed his charity. I lay in want, in grief and pain: A poor man passed my way; He bound my head, he gave me bread, He watched me night and day. How shall I pay him back again, For all he did to me? Oh, gold is great, but greater far Is Heavenly Sympathy.
I lay in sorrow, deep distressed: My grief a proud man heard; His looks were cold, he gave me gold, But not a kindly word. My sorrow passed,—I paid him back The gold he gave to me; Then stood erect and spoke my thanks, And blessed his charity. I lay in want, in grief and pain: A poor man passed my way; He bound my head, he gave me bread, He watched me night and day. How shall I pay him back again, For all he did to me? Oh, gold is great, but greater far Is Heavenly Sympathy.
Approximate author period: c. 1814 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Charles Mackay
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1814 AD · industrial
documented author birth year (1814)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Life and Literature (copyright 1910) (1910 AD)
Number 1871 · printed citation: Charles Mackay
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.