You ask me why I look so sad
On this bright summer's day
Or why the tears are in my eyes
And I seem so far away
Well sit yourself beside me here
And put your hand in mine
And I'll tell of someone I loved long
Long before your time

I'm sitting here and thinking
Of those days so long ago
When I was just a child like you
And a girl I used to know
Through fields of green we laughed and played
And sang our merry rhymes
Oh summer days were warmer then
Long before your time

Through childhood years our love did bloom
Till our hearts were just as one
And we promised each eternal love
In the church before the town
We settled in this little house
I was proud to call her mine
Oh we were young and happy then
Long before your time

One lovely year was all we had
Until the sickness came
And stole the roses from her cheeks
My tears they fell like rain
For nine long months she carried you
But in the end she died
She chose to go so you might live long
Long before your time

So you ask me why I look so sad
On this bright summer's day
Or why the tears are in my eyes
And I seem so far away
It's just you seem a lot like her
When your eyes look into mine
And you smile so much like she did long
Long before your time