Remember Well and Bear In Mind

DESCRIPTION: "Remember well and bear in mind, A faithful/gentle/honest/tender friend is hard to fine, But when you find one kind and true, Never change the old one for the new."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1890 (autograph album of George Washington Franklin, according to Sackett/Koch-KansasFolklore)
KEYWORDS: friend nonballad floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(MW,So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Sackett/Koch-KansasFolklore, p. 123, "(Remember well and bear in mind)" (1 text)
Solomon-ZickaryZan, p. 134, "(Remember well and bear in mind)" (1 short text, containing only the first couplet.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "My Blue-Eyed Boy" (lyrics)
NOTES [135 words]: This verse seems to have floated, in whole or in part, into several songs, including "My Blue-Eyed Boy," but it apparently exists in isolation as well, so I've given it its own entry.
This is one of many items Sackett/Koch-KansasFolklore extracted from the autograph album of George Washington Franklin, which he maintained 1882 to 1895 or after. Solomon-ZickaryZan also list it as an autograph album verse.
Web searches for this quote find many people attributing this to Laura Ingalls Wilder (although none of them actually said where she published it!). But Sackett/Koch-KansasFolklore's quote precedes any of Laura's published writings, and Brewster apparently picked it up in Indiana. I'd call that traditional, although I wouldn't bet on it ever having been sung except as part of "My Blue-Eyed Boy." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: SaKo123R

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