699. The Letter That Never Came
'The Letter That Never Came.' Sung by Miss Ruth Black, Piney Creek, Allegheny county, 1921.
F-508
let - ter here for me?' Was the ques - tion that he ask'd
Of the mail - man at the close of day.
He turned sad - ly with a sigh,
While a tear stood in his eye,
Then he bowed his head and slow - ly walked a - way.
Was it from grey hair'd moth - er, sis - ter or
broth - er? Had he wait - ed all those man - y years in
vain? Yet from ear - ly morn-ing's light He would watch with spir -
its light, But the let - ter that he longed for nev - er came.
For melodic relationship cf. *WSMML 36, compare melodic idioms at
certain words : "he ask'd," "a sigh," and "morning light."
Scale: Heptachordal. Tonal Center: d. Structure: abab1cc1a1bi (2,2,2, 2,2,2,2,2) = aa1ba1 (4,4,4,4) = Reprisenbar. The tonal center is the lowest tone.