Unbidden tear-drops fill her eyes,
And to all questions she replies,
With a sad heigho!
‘Tis but a little word – ‘heigho!’
So soft, ’tis scarcely heard – ‘heigho!’
An idle breath –
Yet life and death
May hang upon a maid’s ‘heigho!’
When maiden loves, she mopes apart,
As owl mopes on a tree;
Although she keenly feels the smart,
She cannot tell what ails her heart,
With its sad ‘Ah me!’
‘Tis but a foolish sigh – ‘Ah me!’
Born but to droop and die – ‘Ah me!’
Yet all the sense
Of eloquence
Lies hidden in a maid’s ‘Ah me!’