A little child on a sickbed lay And death was very near She was the pride and only child of a railroad engineer His duty had called him from those he loved And seeing that hope was dim While a tear he shed, to his wife he said Just have two lanterns trimmed Chorus: Just hang a light as I pass tonight Hang it where it can be seen If our baby's dead just show the red If she's better then show the green In a little house by the railroad track A mother with watchful eye Saw a gleam of hope and a feeble smile As the train went rushing by Just one short look was his only chance To see the light agleam In the midnight air there arose a prayer Thank God the light was green chorus