Red Wing

There once lived an Indian Maid,

A shy little prairie maid,

Who sang a lay, a love song gay

As o'er the plain she'd while the time away;

She loved a warrior bold, this shy little maid of old,

But blythe and gay he rode one day

To battle far away.

Chorus:

Now the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing,

The breezes sighing, the night birds crying;

While far beneath the stars her brave is sleeping,

Poor Red Wing weeping her heart away.

She watched through the day and night,

She kept the campfire bright

While under the sky each night she would lie

And dream about his coming by and by;

But when the braves returned,

The heart of Red Wing yearned,

For brave one day her warrior gay

Fell bravely in the fray.

I love these melancholy songs. They are dreamy, and the tune makes them hauntingly romantic.

My first memory of this song was when my dad would work nights, I vividly remember looking out the front window waiting for him to come home and my mom would sing this song as I waited. I remember it sounding so sad. I've always loved it.