Scarlet Ribbons

I peeked in to say goodnight, And then I heard my child in prayer: "And for me some scarlet ribbons, Scarlet ribbons for my hair . . ." All the stores were closed and shuttered, All the streets were dark and bare . . . In our town, no scarlet ribbons, Not one ribbon for her hair . . . Through the night my heart was aching, Just before the dawn was breaking, I peeked in and on her bed, In gay profusion lying there, Lovely ribbons, scarlet ribbons, Scarlet ribbons for her hair . . . If I live to be two hundred, I will never know from where, Came those lovely scarlet ribbons, Scarlet ribbons, for her hair!