Red Wing - as performed by Jack Marti

Recently a man called me and asked if I could record this song for him, so he could give it to his wife for her birthday. Apparently they had been searching for a recording of the song for years, but couldn't find one anywhere. This intrigued me, as I was very familiar with the tune, but had never heard the words sung before. So I looked it up on You Tube to see if anyone had done a vocal arrangement of it. I could not find one. So I told him I would do it. And here it is!

There once was an Indian maid,
A shy little prairie maid,
Who sang a lay, a love song gay,
As on the plain she'd while away the day;

She loved a warrior bold,
This shy little maid of old,
But brave and gay, he rode one day
To battle far away.

Now, the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing
The breeze is sighing, the night bird's crying,
For afar 'neath his star her brave is sleeping,
While Red Wing's weeping her heart away.

She watched for him day and night,
She kept all the campfires bright,
And under the sky, each night she would lie,
And dream about his coming by and by;

But when all the braves returned,
The heart of Red Wing yearned,
For far, far away, her warrior gay,
Fell bravely in the fray.

Now, the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing
The breeze is sighing, the night bird's crying,
For afar 'neath his star her brave is sleeping,
While Red Wing's weeping her heart away.