I am far frae my hame, an’ I’m weary aftenwhiles

I am far frae my hame, an’ I’m weary aftenwhiles. Mary Lee Demarest* (1838-1888).  This poem was written in 1860 (Hymnary.org) or 1861 (JJ, p. 1628) and published in The New York Observer. According to Ira D. Sankey* (1906, pp. 163-5), it was based on the story of John Macduff, who emigrated to the United States and settled in the west. His wife became homesick, and they moved to the east coast, where she could see the ships leaving for Scotland. She continued to pine for Scotland, so the Macduffs returned there, where she recovered her health.  Mary Lee Demarest had a Scottish nurse, who told her stories of Scotland, and taught her something of the Scottish dialect. Hymntime records that...