Love's Old Sweet Song

Molly tells her husband in Calypso that there will be two numbers on the "programme" for her upcoming concert tour. Mozart's lusty duet of sexual seduction will be paired with a sentimental celebration of enduring love, "Love's Old Sweet Song." An English poet, G. Clifton Bingham, wrote the lyrics of this popular Victorian song, and the Irish composer James Lynam Molloy set them to music. Published in 1884 as sheet music, the song enjoyed great popularity in home parlors as well as on the concert stage.

John Hunt 2017

Patricia Hammond singing Love's Old Sweet Song in 2008, with Michael Brough at the piano. Source: YouTube.

John McCormack singing Love's Old Sweet Song in 1927, with Edwin Schneider at the piano. Source: YouTube.

The Irish Tenors (Finbar Wright, Anthony Kearns, and Ronan Tynan) singing Love's Old Sweet Song in 1998, with orchestral accompaniment. Source: YouTube.

1910 sheet music of Love's Old Sweet Song, advertising performance by Madame Antoinette Sterling. Source: www.dustymusic.com.

Portrait print of Madame Antoinette Sterling published in 10 April 1875 issue of The Graphic. Source: www.pinterest.com.