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Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?

[ Roud 4440 ; Mudcat 18761 ; Rev. George Beebe, H.E. McAfee]

Will You Miss Me? is a song by Rev. George Beebe and H.E. McAfee printed in John B. Vaughan: Songs for the Singing, Normal and Literary Schools (Athens, GA, 1910, no.75, p.89). Rev. George R. Beebe was born on 9 June 1828, in Lancashire, England and died on 10 March 1877 in Grafton, New Hampshire, United States. (On Mudcat the author is given as Rev. George Beebee; there was a Rev. George Beebee 1851-19.05.1913, buried in Norwich, but this song seems to be an American one.)

The Carter Family recorded Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? on 10 May 1928 in Camden, New York for their 10" shellac record Victor 21638.

The Pennywhistlers sang Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? in 1966 as one of the two English songs of their Bounty/Nonesuch album Folksongs of Eastern Europe.

Royston and Heather Wood with Peter Bellamy sang Will You Miss Me?, “an American traditional song”, in 1977 on their Transatlantic duo album No Relation.

Sara Grey and Ellie Ellis got Will You Miss Me? from the Carter Family and sang it with Paul Downes, Keith Kendrick and Tony Gibbons in 1986 on their Greenwich Village album You Gave Me a Song….

Rod Clements, Ray Jackson and Rab Noakes sang Will You Miss Me? in 1986 on the Woodie Guthrie tribute album on Black Crow Records, Woody Lives!.

Elizabeth LaPrelle sang Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? on her 2011 album Birds’ Advice. She noted:

More Carter Family here. Not to ruin the finer sentiments of the song for you, but the flowery lyrics make for a diverting farcical pantomime.

Lyrics

Royston and Heather Wood sing Will You Miss Me?

When death shall close my eyelids,
And my race on earth is run,
Will you miss me when I’m gone?

Chorus (after each verse):
Will you miss me, will you miss me, miss me,
Will you miss me when I’m gone?
Will you miss me when I’m gone?

Come and set yourself beside me,
Come and set beside my bed.
Lay your hand upon my brow
While my achin’ heart grows dead.

When these lips shall nevermore
Press a kiss upon thy brow
But lie cold and still in death,
Will you love me then as now?

(repeat first verse)

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Tim McElwaine for Royston and Heather Wood’s lyrics.