Just a little box all covered with
Chinese red and made of brass
that he gave her long ago
and the springtime flowering trees
That she kept with all the love they
She got it from her captain
when he sailed around the Horn
Bringing gifts from China
from the places he had gone
She kept them all until she died,
but this was her favorite one.
Just a little box all covered with
Chinese red and made of brass
that he gave her long ago.
and the springtime flowering trees
That she kept with all the love they shared
And she kept it on her dresser
filled with gold and silver rings
He filled her heart with the mystery
When he gave it to her for her own
Ten years they were together,
he'd come home and then he'd leave
One day while she waited,
No one knew how she'd call his name
to the silent rocks and stones
Or how she'd sit and hold that little box
so she would not feel alone
Just a little box all covered with
Shiny as red and made of brass
that he gave her long ago
and the springtime flowering trees
That she kept with all the love they shared inside her
No, she never was a dancer
The treasures of her life
were the things she left behind
They buried her without them
where the prairie grasses grow
In China, or a woman's heart,
there are places no one knows
Just a little box all covered with
Chinese red and made of brass
that he gave her long ago
and springtime flowering trees
That she kept with all the love they
shared inside her memories
They buried her without them
where the prairie grasses grow
In China or a woman's heart
there are places no one knows
