America has Longfellow and Whittier and Poe
And Frost, Lowell, Bryant and Whitman their legend grow and grow
But the Voice of America to none of these belong
That title belong to one more lyrical one who was a prince of song.
Camptown Races, My Old Kentucky Home and the unforgettable Old Black Joe
His songs as popular today as they were decades ago
My Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair and Hard Times Come Again No More
Are sung in halls and pubs and clubs far from his Homeland shore.
The legacy of his genius lives in the beauty he did create
The name of Stephen Foster is a name to celebrate
His songs withstand the test of time the greatest test of all
The many memorable songs he penned are delightful to recall.
America can boast of many great poets their's is a Worldwide fame
But the one who penned the legendary songs Stephen Foster was his name
Is the Voice of America he did not live to be old
He died young and impoverished or so we have been told.
Francis Duggan
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-voice-of-america/
