There's a Little Box of Pine on the 7:29
(Billy and DeDette Lee Hill)

"Dear warden," wrote a mother, "how much longer must I wait,
Before you send my boy back home to me?"
She never knew me angels had unlocked the prison gate,
The one rhe loved at last had been set free.
The warden read her letter, and then he softly cried,
As with these words of sorrow he replied:

"There's a little box of pine on the Seven-twenty-nine,
Bringing back a lost sheep to the fold:
For a pardon from above has returned the one you love,
A sadder story never has been told.
Though he's taking his last ride, never more this world to roam,
On his face there is a smile, he knows he is going home;
There's a little box of pine on the Seven-twenty-nine,
Bringing back a lost sheep to the fold.

The church was filled with music as the sermon did begin,
His brokenhearted folks were gathered there;
The preacher told me story of the boy who followed sin,
The heavy load his loved ones now must bear,
When he had preached his sermon, the organ softly played,
As on their knees the congregation prayed.

There's a little box of pine on the Seven-twenty-nine,
Bringing back a lost sheep to the fold;
In the valley there are tears as the train of sorrow nears,
The sun is gone, the world seems dark and cold.
There his lonely mother waits with the girl he left behind,
On their knees they ask in prayer why Fate's been so unkind;

There's a little box of pine on the Seven-twenty-nine,
Bringing back a lost sheep to the fold.

Copyright Ettlinger, Lee and Lee 1931
RG
OCT98