After the Ball

[Kathryn]
A little maiden
Climbed an old man's knee,
Begged for a story,
"Do, Uncle, please."
Why are you single?
Why live alone?
Have you no babies?
Have you no home?
I had a sweetheart,
Years, years ago,
Where she is now, pet,
You will soon know.
Listen to the story,
I'll tell it all,
I believed her faithless
After the ball.

After the ball is over,
After the break of morn,
After the dancers leaving,
After the stars are gone;
Many a heart is aching,
If you could read them all;
Many the hopes that have vanished
After the ball!

[Chorus]
After the ball is over,
After the break of morn,
After the dancers leaving,
After the stars are gone;
Many a heart is aching,
If you could read them all;

[Kathryn and Chorus]

Many the hopes that have vanished
After the ball.