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
List 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
Bright lights were flashing in the grand ballroom
Softly the music, playing sweet tunes
There came my sweetheart, my love, my own
"I wish some water, leave me alone"
When I returned, dear, there stood a man
Kissing my sweetheart as lovers can
Down fell the glass, pet, broken, that's all
Just as my heart was 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
Long years have passed, child; I've never wed
True to my lost love, though she is dead
She tried to tell me, tried to explain
I would not listen, pleadings were vain
One day a letter came from that man
He was her brother, the letter ran
That's why I'm lonely, no home at all
I broke her heart, pet, 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"