"Four-Leaf Clover"

"Four-Leaf Clover"

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I know a place where the sun is like gold,
And the cherry blossoms burst with snow,

And down underneath is the loveliest nook

Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

One leaf is for hope, and one is for faith,
And one is for love, you know,
And God put another in for luck—
If you search you will find where they grow.

But you must have hope, and you must have faith,

You must love and be strong,—and so—
If you work, if you wait, you will find the place

Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

Ella Higginson's "Four-Leaf Clover" was her most popular work by far and is often reprinted today, though sometimes incorrectly attributed to Emily Dickinson. The poem was published in 1890 in West Shore magazine of Portland, OR, as well as in Higginson's books of poetry and prose When the Birds Go North Again (1898) and Four-Leaf Clover (1901).

A postcard featuring "Four-Leaf Clover." An identical postcard was recently found in Romania.

"Four-Leaf Clover" printed and signed by Ella Higginson, courtesy of the Ella Higginson Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Heritage Resources, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA.

In 1909, President William Howard Taft shook hands with a little boy who a few days later came down with the measles and the country became concerned for Taft's health. And then this happened:

This April 24, 1909 newspaper clipping, taken from The Evening Star of Washington, D.C., reports that Ella Higginson sent President Taft a copy of one of her books with the last two stanzas of "Four-Leaf Clover" written on the inside cover along with a real four-leaf clover in an effort to ensure his health.

This incident is mentioned the next day in The New York Tribune in the third paragraph:

This book, however, has not been located. Robert Taft, the grandson of William Howard Taft and former governor of Ohio, does not believe it stayed in the family, but it resides in neither the William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Ohio or the Library of Congress. Its location remains a mystery for now.

"Four- Leaf Clover" was also set to music by various composers and performed all around the country from children's summer camps to solo and choir concerts.

A musical composition by Charles Willeby inspired by "Four-Leaf Clover" by Ella Higginson.

"Four-Leaf Clover" as it appears in Ella Higginson's Four-Leaf Clover, 1901.