07/30/2025

O Penny dear, don’t wait for me,

I won’t be coming back tomorrow–

Twenty-three, and bold and free,

I thought I’d make a difference there.

Upon a roof, I scoped the crooked king,

when a bullet struck me square. 

Don’t weep and moan, forget me so,

just swallow the hurt and sorrow. 

I wish I’d seen your face again,

I wish I’d seen your skin old and gray, 

but the time we had will have to do. 

O Penny dear, my hope goes with you, 

won’t you go without a look back? 

Won’t you marry a man noble and kind

and live the life that life snuffed from me? 

You shook your head, you beat your chest,

you cried, “I’ll mourn him forever!”,

no matter the ring offered by a handsome fellow. 

You lingered on, dally for me,

O don’t you know my poor spirit’s aching? 

Don’t weep and moan, forget me so,

just swallow the hurt and sorrow. 

O Penny dear, I see you clear,

and the sight shakes my immortal coil–

past auburn fields and groves of green,

by the blue shimmer of oceantide,

you came to me in a shawl of black,

where I was rudely displayed 

for the shame of what I had tried to do.

Your hair was long, yes, long enough,

and the color was golden yellow;

you wrapped around my shoulders and back,

and in the soft seat of your fair lockes,

you bore me the long way home. 

O Penny dear, don’t live for me,

but set me down in a yard of soft flowers,

whereupon I can rest easy to pass the long hours. 

Don’t weep and moan, forget me so,

just swallow the hurt and sorrow.