Mark Twain? Margo T. Brandt? Kimber Crocker? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: A popular poem is employed during wedding celebrations. Here are the first two lines:
I cannot promise you a life of sunshine
I cannot promise riches, wealth, or gold
This poem has been attributed to the famous U.S. writer Mark Twain, but I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore the provenance of this poem?
Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Mark Twain crafted this poem. It does not appear on the Twain Quotes website edited by Barbara Schmidt;1 nor does it appear in the large compilation “Mark Twain at Your Fingertips” edited by Caroline Thomas Harnsberger;2 nor does it appear in the speech compilation “Mark Twain Speaking” edited by Paul Fatout.3
Twain died in 1910. A version of the poem entered circulation by 1971. Twain implausibly received credit by 2004. The body of the poem and its attribution have changed over time.
The earliest march found by QI appeared in the “Vineland Times Journal” of New Jersey on December 21, 1971. The poem was twelve lines long, and these were the first five lines. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:4
I cannot promise you a life of sunshine;
I cannot promise riches, wealth or gold;
I cannot promise you an easy pathway
That leads away from change or growing old.
But I can promise all my heart’s devotion.
The poem appeared in the newspaper section for classified advertisements. The message began with “Dear A”, and the final line said “MERRY CHRISTMAS, Love, S.” QI conjectures that “S” was reprinting a message from a greeting card, a book, or another source. The original creator remains anonymous.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 1980 “The Eunice News” of Louisiana published a version of the poem titled “On Valentine’s Day” attributed to ninth grader Margo T. Brandt. The poem was twelve lines long, and the first five lines strongly matched the 1971 poem:5
I can’t promise you a life full of sunshine.
I can’t promise you riches, wealth, or gold.
I can’t promise you an easy pathway
That leads away from growing old
But I can promise you all my love
There were several differences between the 1980 and 1971 poems. The first three lines in 1980 used the contraction “can’t” instead of “cannot”. The first line in 1980 added the word “full”. The second line added the word “you”. The fourth line removed “change”. The fifth line removed “devotion”. In addition, the 1980 poem included two lines referring to Valentine’s Day which were not in the 1971 poem.
In 1997 “The State” newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina printed a piece credited to Kimber Crocker which included another version of the poem which began as follows:6
I cannot promise him a life of sunshine or a future filled with riches, and I cannot promise him an easy pathway that leads away from change or growing old, but I can promise all my heart’s devotion …
In 1999 the “Los Angeles Times” of California printed an article in which a husband gave his wife a Valentine’s Day card containing a version of the poem:7
“For my wife, with love,” reads George’s favorite Valentine’s Day card to Melba.
“I cannot promise you a life of sunshine, I cannot promise riches, health or gold. I cannot promise you an easy pathway, that leads away from change or growing old. … But I can promise all my heart’s devotion, a smile to chase away your tears of sorrow. …
In 2003 a compilation titled “Wedding Readings & Musical Ideas” included an eight-line version of the poem titled “These I Can Promise” which was credited to anonymous.8
In 2004 a compilation titled “Poems and Readings for Weddings” included the same version of the poem, but it was credited to Mark Twain.9 This was the earliest linkage to Twain found by QI.
In 2014 the “Richmond Times-Dispatch” of Virginia printed an announcement for a couple’s 50th anniversary. The message included the eight-line poem with an attribution to Mark Twain.10
In conclusion, QI believes that Mark Twain did not compose this poem. A version of the poem existed by 1971. The originator remains unknown. The body of the poem has diverged over time although the first four lines are typically preserved.
Image Notes: A couple making a heart symbol with their hands from Yiming Ma at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to historian Steve Courtney whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Thanks also to Barbara Schmidt for her wonderful website.
- Website: TwainQuotes.com, Editor: Barbara Schmidt, (QI searched the website for “cannot promise” and other phrases. No pertinent matches were found), Description: Mark Twain quotations, articles, and related resources. (Searched June 22, 2025) link ↩︎
- 1948, Mark Twain at Your Fingertips by Caroline Thomas Harnsberger, (QI searched for “cannot promise” and other phrases. No pertinent matches were found) Cloud, Inc., Beechhurst Press, Inc., New York. (Searched June 22, 2025) ↩︎
- 1976, Mark Twain Speaking, Edited by Paul Fatout, (QI searched for “cannot promise” and other phrases. No pertinent matches were found), Published by University of Iowa Press, Iowa City. (Searched June 22, 2025) ↩︎
- 1971 December 21, Vineland Times Journal, Section: Classified Advertising, Happy Ads, Advertisement from S to A, Quote Page 29, Column 1, Vineland, New Jersey. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1980 February 14, The Eunice News, On Valentine’s Day by Margo T. Brandt (9th Grade), Quote Page 5C, Column 3, Eunice, Louisiana. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1997 April 18, The State, Husband makes life happy by Kimber Crocker (West Columbia), Quote Page D2, Column 1, Columbia, South Carolina. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1999 February 14, Los Angeles Times, In Sickness and in Health by Nancy Wride (Times Staff Writer), (Continuation title: LOVE: Assisted Living for Her Would Be Tough on Him), Start Page A1, Quote Page A27, Column 3, Los Angeles, California. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 2003, Wedding Readings & Musical Ideas, Compiled by Reverend John Wynburne and Alison Gibbs, Chapter: Poetry, These I Can Promise by Anonymous, Quote Page 98, Foulsham: The Publishing House, Berkshire, England. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2004, Poems and Readings for Weddings, Edited by Julia Watson, These I Can Promise by Mark Twain (1835—1910), Quote Page 53, Penguin Books, London, England. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2014 November 30, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Section: Announcement and Advertising, Mary & Ralph Puccinelli — 50th Anniversary, Quote Page H4, Column 1 and 2, Richmond, Virginia. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎