(Source: Am I Not Your Girl?)
| 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 ribbon for her hair. |
| |
| Thru 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. |
|
Notes
Written in 1949, was first a hit for Jo Stafford and Harry Belafonte (separately) in 1951. Sinéad was probably influenced most by Stafford's version. At the 2005 Meltdown Festival, Sinéad performed the song because she learned that both she and festival curator Patti Smith were sung this song by their fathers as a lullaby.
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