When you and I Were Young, Maggie

Here is a well known song from yester year, by George Washington Johnson, about growing old. Although it is often found in the repertoire of Scottish singers, George Johnson was a Canadian from Toronto. "Maggie" was Margaret Clark, a pupil of George Johnson who was a schoolteacher. Maggie and George fell in love but although they became engaged, Maggie contracted TB. During one of his fiancee's more serious bouts of illness, George walked to a nearby hill, overlooking a mill, and composed the verse that provided the lyrics to his song. George and Maggie were married in 1864 but Maggie's health deteriorated and she died on May 12, 1865. George's friend, J.C. Butterfield set the poem to music and it became popular all over the world. George Washington Johnson died in 1917.