And the perfume in the air
Came from purple cat's valerian—
But her footsteps on the stair
Made a sound like silver music
Thro' the perfume in the air.”
The last verse sums up the dread of many a fighting-man—that all his dreams are only dreams, and that a return to reality may disappoint him:
“And another soldier fellow
Shall come courting of my dear.
And it's I shall not be with her
With my lip beside her ear.