Never, Never

NEVER, NEVER

She, a lovely daughter come
         To see her father dear;
He, a lonely soldier boy
         Whose home was nowhere near.

He quickly fell in love with her
         And told her so each day.
She said the same, but in her heart
         Knew it was only play.

Never, never tell a lie
         To one who loves you true,
For such great penance they will take
         Upon you if you do.

He had to fight, but first he said,
         “My darling, if you can,
Please promise me you’ll never up
         And wed another man.”

She swore to such, and so he left.
         The earth did spin and turn,
And when they all came marching back,
         Our boy did not return.

Never, never tell a lie
         To one who loves you true,
For such great penance they will take
         Upon you if you do.

She did not cry, she only laughed
         And told her father dear,
“I’m off to wed a man back east,
         So I’ll be leaving here.”

Her father threw a grand soiree
         To celebrate before,
And all was going well until
         A man came to the door.

Never, never tell a lie
         To one who loves you true,
For such great penance they will take
         Upon you if you do.

Our boy had come from past the grave.
         The room hushed like a spell.
He danced with her, so fast, so fast,
         Until at last she fell.

He stood above her corpse-like form,
         A cold light in his eye,
And when her friends at last went near,
         They saw that she had died.

Never, never tell a lie
         To one who loves you true,
For such great penance they will take
         Upon you if you do.