Classic Poem

“Oh, sing, sing, pretty maiden,
Until your wedding-day!”
“Can I sing or smile with a broken heart,
And my love so far away?

“My sweetheart went away to war,
'T was seven long years ago!
Oh, I would like to follow him,
But the way I do not know.”

As she set out upon the road,
She met with a fair youth:
“Pray, have you seen my own sweetheart?
O brave lad, tell me truth.”

“It may be I have seen him,
How should I know him there?
Oh, tell me, pretty maiden,
What did your sweetheart wear?”

“He wore a cap with a band of gold;
He wore a coat of red;
He had a sword girt at his waist
With a scarf embroiderèd.”

“Oh, yes, yes, I have seen him;
He had an escort brave:
With fifty torches burning bright
They bore him to his grave.”

The maiden fell down to the earth,
She fell to earth for pain.
“Oh, rise, rise, dear, I am your love,
Your first love come again!”