Roger And I


Well, Roger, my dear old doggie, they say that your race is run;

And our jolly tramps together up and down the world are done;

You're only a dog, old fellow, a dog, and you've had your day;

But never a friend of all my friends has been truer than you alway.



We've had glorious times together in the fields and pastures fair;

In storm and sunny weather we have romped without a care;

And however m
n have treated me, though foul or fair their deal--

However many the friends that failed, I've found you true as steel.



That's right, my dear old fellow, look up with your knowing eye,

And lick my hand with your loving tongue that never has told a lie;

And don't be afraid, old doggie, if your time has come to go,

For somewhere out in the great Unknown there's a place for you,

I know.



Then don't you worry, old Comrade; and don't you fear to die;

For out in that fairer country I will find you by and by;

And I'll stand by you, old fellow, and our love will surely win,

For never a heaven shall harbor me where they won't let Roger in.



When I reach that city glorious, behind the waiting dark,

Just come and stand outside the gate, and wag your tail and bark--

I'll hear your voice, and I'll know it, and I'll come to the gate

and say:

"Saint Peter, that's my dog out there, you must let him come this

way."



And then if the saint refuses, I'll go to the One above,

And say: "Old Roger is at the gate, with his heart brim full of love;

And there isn't a shining angel, of all the heavenly band,

Who ever lived a nobler life than he in the earthly land."



Then I know the gate will open, and you will come frisking in,

And we'll roam fair fields together, in that country free from sin.

So never you mind, old Roger, if your time has come to go;

You've been true to me, I'll be true to you--and the Lord is good, we

know.



You're only a dog, old fellow; a dog, and you've had your day--

Well, I'm getting there myself, old boy, and I haven't long to stay;

But you've stood by me, old Comrade, and I'm bound to stand by you;

So don't you worry, old Roger, for our love will pull us through.



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