When
Emma
Rose was ten years old,
her father passed away.
She cried to think he'd never
see her on her wedding day.
And then her mother sickened
and left her on her own
Saying,
Emma
Rose, it grieves me to
leave you so alone
How long, how long will it be
till you're returning?
How long, how long must I
keep the candles burning?
When
Emma
Rose was sixteen years,
she was courted and wed
By
Danny
Jay, the neighbor boy,
a fine young man they said
And in the flowering of their love,
Emma had a son
And
Danny left one morning before
the rising of the sun
How long, how long will it be
till you're returning?
How long, how long must I
keep the candles burning?
The years went by and
Emma
Rose grew bitter in her grief
Of all the men that came and went,
none gave her any peace
And even age could not erase
the beauty in her face
But
Emma
Rose had eyes for one who
left without a trace
And tell me, how long,
how long will it be till you're returning?
How long, how long must I keep
the candles burning?
Emma lives alone now,
the child is grown and gone
Some say they see her now and then
on the day she goes to town
And if you're traveling north,
there's a mailbox on the road
And all it says is
Em ma
Rose, in letters faint and old
How long, how long will it be
till you're returning?
How long, how long must
I keep the candles burning?