Paul, Is this the song? I found it on several websites, with different titles, but I think the oldest title is: The Blackest Crow. The song lyrics below are slightly different from lyrics on the website I've included at the bottom of this message, which also includes the origins and meaning of the song. 21. The Time Draws Near (Roud 3601) (Sung by Doug Wallin at his home at Crane Branch, Madison County, NC. 23.5.83) The time draws near, my dearest dear, When you and I must part. And no-one knows the inner grief Of my poor aching heart. Or what I suffer for your sake, The one I love so dear. I wish that I could go with you, Or you could tarry here. I find my mother hard to leave, My father's on my mind. But for your sake, I'll leave them both, I'll leave them all behind. I wish your breast was made of glass, Your heart I might behold. Upon it I would write my name, In letters of bright gold. Upon it I would write my name, Believe me when I say, You are the one that I love best Until my dying day. When you are on some distant shore, A line or two pray send; And when the wind blows high and clear, Think on your absent friend. Yes, when the wind blows high and clear, Pray send them love to me. So I would know by your hand-write, How things have been with thee. Cecil Sharp collected a very similar set, titled My Dearest Dear, on August 5th, 1916, from Mary Sands, Doug Wallin's great-aunt. Another North Carolina recording, sung by Dolly Greer, may be heard on the album The Doc Watson Family Tradition (Rounder CD 0129), while two other notable recordings of it are Tommy Jarrell's, as My Dearest Dear on (County LP 757 Clawhammer Banjo, Volume 3) and from Dan Tate, as As Time Draws Near on a Prentice-Hall LP anthology, Anglo-American Folksong Style. Mark Wilson has found it to be popular in Kentucky and the Ozarks and is sure that it is far more popular than its scattered appearances in songbooks would suggest. Found at: Far In the Mountains: Volumes 3 & 4 http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/mount34.htm Also, you might enjoy reading the comments, origins and meaning of this song, The Blackest Crow, at: Tune Req: The Blackest Crow http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2246 Paula Kelley Ward San Antonio, Texas <mailto:chachalady@sbcglobal.net> chachalady@sbcglobal.net Genealogy is my Soul Hobby