Justine was asking for…

Justine was asking for songs in which the girl doesn't want to get married, and is happy about it. The first thing I thought of, a folk song "Single Girls," a few other people already mentioned. (Although I can't seem to find the full lyrics online that I half-way remember, argh.)

I'm not sure this is exactly what she's thinking of, but I've always loved Bill Staines's "Prairie Song", from his album The First Million Miles. The internet didn't seem to have the lyrics (!), so I have typed them out for you. Here, internet -- a present. Follow the Amazon link above to get a sample of the lovely tune.

Prairie Song

He told her he was free; he was as free as any wind.
"Don't you count on me, for I may not be by again."
Then she touched him oh so easy
As if she were but a child;
And she whispered soft as willows do,
And looked at him and smiled

She said, "I have known the wind;
It's been a friend all of my days.
I have seen it dance, across the prairie when it plays.
And I have known the freedom too, in a wheatfield's rolling sea,
And they have never left me blue, so play your song for me."

When the morning came, he took the train to Omaha;
Starry stars and midnight hours riding with him on the car.
Now he'll say that he is free, that he's as free as any wind,
But he's feeling differently; he'll not be the same again.

For he sees her face in daytime dreams,
And it lingers through the miles;
She still whispers soft as willows do,
And he listens, and he smiles.

She says, "I have known the wind;
It's been a friend all of my days.
I have seen it dance, across the prairie when it plays.
And I have known the freedom too, in a wheatfield's rolling sea,
And they have never left me blue, so play your song for me."

-- Bill Staines

And now I have the song on repeat, listening to it over and over again, because I love it just that much. I can't explain why.