She cleaned off the supper table and washed the dishes
And went outside to catch the evening breeze
The smell of sweet magnolias filled the summer night
And she hummed a song that set her mind at ease
She closed her eyes and remembered another night like this
It had been the sixteenth year of her life
When the one she loved had sit with her on the porch swing
And told her he was going off to fight
Five summers came and fell across her shoulders
And the only news she heard was from her heart
And all this time she kept on waiting
Through the long hot summers
And the cold nights of winter she waited
And when about three weeks before
They'd heard that the war was over
And she still hadn't heard no news from him
She never once let it cross her mind
That he wouldn't be coming back to her
And on this particular night
As she sit there on the old porch swing
She suddenly got up
And went around the side of the house
And got some water outta the old rain barrel
And she washed her hair
And brushed it 'til it shine
And went inside and put on her prettiest yellow dress
And she waited by the window through the night
The morning sun came shining through her restless dreams
And she awoke to somebody whistling her favourite song
And although he was walking slowly with a slight limp
She could tell that it was Jimmy and he was home