Della Mae Ballad Of A Lonely Woman
Stranger you call in early day
You came as I rose from bed
Sit a while I'll let you stay
The cold outside is bitter
Though you can't tell now
My hair used to be
Yellow like the stalks of hay in our field
My palms rough from years sowing seed
My skin was browned by the sun
I wish I had something for you to eat
The cow is long gone
The eggs they have froze
I wish I had something for you to eat
Stay for a while with me
Mini fiddle
We built this house with wood from our land
We had enough for an acre and ten
Each joint and beam cut by hand
They've kept me from the cold
My husband and I grew weary and old
No children nearby to keep us in care
I woke up one morning
And he had grown cold
Now I wait to be with him
And I wish I had whiskey for you to drink
I drank the last drop the night before
I wish I had whiskey for you to drink
Stay for a while with me
Fiddle
Now life has not done me too good or too wrong
I haven't had much of what you could buy
What I had, a price you couldn't put on
I lived and I loved and paid not a dime
So I'll sift out my stories and look at the sky
My feet on the floorboards cut long ago
As the flicker of candle sputters to die
I'll smile to see you come morning.
