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