From the musical “What’s in a Name?”, 1920.
Words by John Murray Anderson and Jack Yellen.
Music by Milton Ager.
Sheet music provided by Laurence Rubenstein:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
(Spring)
In fair Japan there’s a legend old
Of a little princess and a warrior bold
Who met one day ‘neath the willow trees
When the buds were kiss’d by the gentle breeze
In Springtime
(Summer)
The soldier, bold and brave was he
And the maid was as fair as a maid could be
He wooed her so the story tells
And the little Princess heard the wedding bells
In Junetime
Refrain
In old Japan, in old Japan
Beneath the Willow tree
Where Lilies grow and Iris blow
A maid waits patiently
Her eyes are bright as starlit skies
For since the world began
No maid was ever loved so well
In fair Japan
Refrain
In fair Japan, in fair Japan
Beneath the Eastern skies
Where once the willow cast its shade
Two stately pine trees rise
The seasons come, the seasons go
But since the world began
True love and pine trees never die
In fair Japan
(Autumn)
But happy days, I am bound to state
For the little Princess and her chosen mate
Were few; for a soldier must obey
When the War God calls, and he sailed away
In Moontime
(Winter)
She watched each day by the willow tree
But he never came back o’er the restless sea
For fate had willed that they should part
And she loved so well that it broke her heart
In Snowtime
Sung here by Fred Feild: