From this valley they say you are going; We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,

voiceCollected by Max Hunter (H-9) For Mary C. Parler Transcribed by Frances Majors Sung by Mrs. Richard "Doris" Venney Springfield, Missouri June 30, 1958 Reel 251-52, Item 14 Red River Valley From this valley they say you are going; We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile, For they say you are taking the sunshine That brightens our pathway a while. Come and sit by my side if you love me, Do not hasten to bid me adieu; But remember the Red River Valley, And the girl that has loved you so true. For a long time I have been waiting For those dear words you never would say; But at last all my fond hopes have vanished, For they say you are going away. Won't you think of the valley you're leaving, Oh, how lonely and sad it will be. Oh, think of the fond heart you're breaking, And the grief you are causing me to see. From this valley they say you are going; When you go, may your darling go, too? Would you leave her behind unprotected When she loves no other but you? I have promised you that never Will a word from my lips cause you pain, And my life it will be yours forever If you only will love me again. Must the past with its joys be blighted By the future of sorrow and pain, And the vows that was spoken be slighted? Don't you think you can love me again? As you go to your home by the ocean, May you never forget those sweet hours That we spent in the Red River Valley, And the l ove we exchanged 'mid the flowers. Red River Valley (Cont'd) Reel 251—52, Item 14 There never could be such a longing In the heart of a pure maiden's breast That dwells in the heart you are breaking, As I wait in my home in the West. And the dark maiden's prayer for her lover, To the spirit that rules over the world, Hay his pathway be ever in sunshine, Is the prayer of the Red River girl.Funding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation