Written by Robert Cameron Rogers and Ethelbert Nevin, “The Rosary” was a ballad of pathos that enjoyed great popularity after it was published in 1898. Performed here by the contralto Marianna Johnson, it was also recorded by leading vocalists of the era, including John McCormack and Alma Gluck.
Robert Cameron Rogers and Ethelbert Nevin, “The Rosary,” performed by Marianna Johnson, The Rosary (phonograph record; Black Swan 2015; 1921).
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Lyrics: “The Rosary”
The hours I spent with Thee, Dear Heart!
Or, as a string of pearls to me,
I count them over, every one apart,
My rosary, my rosary . . .
Each hour a pearl, each pearl a prayer,
To still a heart in absence wrung,
I tell each bead unto the end,
And there a cross is hung . . .
O memories that bless and burn,
O barren gain and bitter loss,
I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn,
To kiss the cross, Sweet Heart,
To kiss the cross . . .
I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn,
To kiss the cross, Sweet Heart,
To kiss the cross . . . (to kiss the cross)
