Oh! Willie, is it you, dear,
Safe, safe at home?
They did not tell me true, dear;
They said you would not come.
I heard you at the gate,
And it made my heart rejoice;
For I knew that welcome footstep
And that dear, familiar voice,
Making music on my ear
In the lonely midnight gloom:
Oh! Willie, we have missed you;
Welcome, welcome home!
We've longed to see you nightly,
But this night of all;
The fire was blazing brightly
And lights were in the hall.
The little ones were up
Till 'twas ten o'-clock and past,
Then their eyes began to twinkle,
And they've gone to sleep at last;
But they listened for your voice
Till they thought you'd never come;
Oh! Willie, we have missed you;
Welcome, welcome home!
The days were sad without you,
The nights long and drear;
My dreams have been about you;
Oh! welcome, Willie dear!
Last night I wept and watched
By the moonlight's cheerless ray,
Till I thought I heard your footstep,
Then I wiped my tears away;
But my heart grew sad again
When I found you had not come;
Oh! Willie, we have missed you;
Welcome, welcome home!