She sews the morning hours away,
She sews away the noon;
She sews as glittering seasons pass –
June, October, June.
And as her needle runs she sings
A little ravelling tune –
She sings a ravelling tune.

She sings with words as light as breath
And soft as April rain,
And of the song she sings none hears
More than the thin refrain –
The ravelling refrain:
O some may sew for love’s own sake,
And some must sew for pain.

Below the world of life moves by
As life must ever move –
Must ever, ever move,
Yet still her needle runs and still
The sun wheels by above.
O some must live for sorrow’s sake 
And some may live for love.

The seams she does not sew today
Another day will borrow,
And as her flashing needle runs
Today, and so tomorrow –
Tomorrow and tomorrow,
She sings a little ravelling tune:
For love or else for sorrow.