Always a Smile

In the heart of Stobierna you were born and raised.
Sister to seven brothers, you worked all your days.
Taught by your mother, you followed farm life,
hoping one day to lead a different life.
You traveled to France at the age of eighteen.
No friends, no companions, no faces you’d seen,
so much was uncertain and life was unfair,
but soon you’d be glad that fate took you there.
You crawled up the stairs, too tired to walk.
Servant girl and milkmaid learnt the language they talked.
Only memories to guide you, between right and wrong,
so you fled from that place, where you didn’t belong.
Good fortune smiled upon you and the place felt like home.
The lady of the house took you in as her own.
It’s there you found love and it’s there you found rest,
it’s there that a gypsy put your faith to the test.
She said, as she looked at the palm of your hand:
'You'll marry a soldier, but not from this land!
Across the sea you will sail and there you’ll find joy,
with the birth of your children, one girl and one boy.'
Just as she said, the prediction came true
and Scotland you went to start life anew.
Another new language, but the work, still the same.
Now a wife and a mother, you had a family again.
The years have passed by, now you’re tired and old.
The wrinkles of your face hide stories untold,
but with courage and spirit you’ve conquered the trials
through life’s ups and down you’ve always a smile.
Always a smile,
always a smile!