Lyr. Add: LORENE

The bright light was shining in heaven
The stars were all twinkly and blue;
The soft bonnie breeze of the twilight
Reminds me, my dear one, of you.
Last night as we parted in sorrow
With heavy hearts hasting away,
You promised, my darling, to meet me
To give me your answer today.

Chorus:
Give me your answer, Lorene, today;
Say you'll be mine, love,
Don't turn away.
You are my angel, my star, my queen;
Give me your answer
Today, sweet Lorene.

They say that you'll go to some city,
Where beloved ones you're seeking to find;
With the rich and the gay you will mingle
And the friends you are leaving behind.
You know that you promised me, darling,
That you would soon make my life joy;
Come look in my eyes for this moment
And give me your answer today.

William A. Owens, 1950, "Texas Folk Songs," pp. 186-188, with sheet music. Coll. from Mayme Finch, Texas. "I had known "Lorene" a long time as a fiddle tune, but the first and only time I found all the words to it was when mayme Finch sang it for me."

The music (3/4) is reminiscent of "I'll Never See Blue Eyes Again." (Out of the barroom he staggered, etc.)