I once had a dark haired true lover
She was all this world to me
She promised herself to another
Now don't you think this was mean

Take back every word you have spoken
Let it be as though we never met
For tonight I'm a poor boy heartbroken
I'll forgive but I'll never forget

I was young when I wrote my first letter
I blotted the lines with tears
But now I am old I know better
We parted for many long years

Oh Ruth, Oh Ruth how I love you
You just seem to me like a bird
Although you went back on your promise
Although you went back on your word

We parted in the month of September
Some said we parted for life
But I hope someday or another
I'll call you my sweet darling wife

I wish I had someone to love me
Someone to call me their own
For I'm out in this wide world a wandering
I'm tired of living alone