The Old House at Home

"The Old House at Home" is a sentimental 19th century ballad written by Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797–1839).

The lyrics are a two stanza poem about childhood and yearning for home:

"Oh! the old house at home where my forefathers dwelt,
Where a child at the feet of my mother I knelt,
Where she taught me the pray'r, where she read me the page,
Which, if infancy lisps, is the solace of age;
My heart, 'mid all changes, wherever I roam,
Ne'er loses its love for the old house at home!"[1]

The song came to the public attention after being set to music by Edward Loder. It first appeared in Loder's 1838 opera "Francis the First".[2] This was one of Loder's lesser operas, which were merely vehicles for his lucrative popular songs.[3] A review of the opening night was less than complimentary; "The few of the public who were present thought it the most stupid piece of trash that ever disgraced the stage; in which opinion we entirely agree with them...".[4] Nevertheless, the song was soon very popular on both sides of the Atlantic.[5]

Other uses
Pub sign for "The Old House at Home" in Dorking.

The title of the song was re-used by Edward Loder's cousin, the composer and conductor George Loder (1816–1868), for a musical entertainment that he co-wrote in 1862, which did not include the song itself.[6]

There are currently 25 public houses in England with the name "Old House at Home", probably named after the original song.[7]

References
  1. Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems by the late Thomas Haynes Bayly; Edited by his Widow. In Two Volumes
  2. The New-Yorker, Volume 7 No 1, p.16 (March 23 1839)
  3. The Musical Times Vol. 107, No. 1478, April 1966
  4. The Literary Gazette Volume 22, p.716 (November 1838)
  5. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 34: Loder, Edward James
  6. Words of the songs and description of the personations, in the new and original entertainment, The Old House at Home: written and composed by Frank Ibberson Jervis and George Loder.
  7. The Old House at Home (Dorking) Website
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