[00:00.76]He met her up in Delaware in 1937.
[00:03.81]She was wearing red lipstick
[00:05.78]to match her pretty dress.
[00:07.57]December 24 at a quarter till 11's
[00:10.64]when he finally gained the courage
[00:12.35]to ask her to dance.
[00:28.06]It was the night before Christmas.
[00:29.89]It was love at first sight.
[00:31.66]The carolers sang as they danced through the night.
[00:34.65]She was a small town girl.
[00:36.47]He was a traveling guy.
[00:38.42]He never caught her name before they said their goodbyes.
[00:45.41]A couple years later
[00:46.60]he was out on the road,
[00:48.84]having Christmas dinner in a diner alone.
[00:51.95]When he saw a young waiteress with a gleam in her eye.
[00:55.31]Her favorite day of the year.
[00:56.96]She showed her spirits were high.
[00:58.90]She said, "Sir, can you shed a little holiday cheer?"
[01:02.42]A simple Christmas story's all she wanted to hear.
[01:05.60]He looked prepared with a smile as he started to say,
[01:08.99]"Here's my favorite Christmas story 'bout a girl with no name."
[01:12.55]He said, "I met her up in Delaware in 1937.
[01:16.08]She was wearing red lipstick
[01:17.80]to match her pretty dress.
[01:19.64]December 24 at a quarter till 11's
[01:22.75]when I finally gained the courage
[01:24.74]to ask her to dance."
[01:29.88]Every holiday season as he traveled he'd tell
[01:33.14]'bout his Christmas dance partner that he never knew well.
[01:36.68]He shared his favorite story with the locals he met.
[01:39.78]He was called the Christmas Story-Telling Traveling Man.
[01:47.08]By age 53 he had done settled down.
[01:50.08]All the neighborhood kids liked to gather around
[01:53.63]just to listen to the stories 'bout his life on the road.
[01:57.16]All he had now were these children he told.
[02:00.78]And every Christmas Eve they showed up before dark.
[02:04.13]He'd tell them all the story but they knew it by heart.
[02:07.36]They could quote it word-for-word.
[02:09.31]He always told it the same.
[02:10.68]It was his favorite Christmas story called "The Girl With No Name."
[02:15.20]He said, "I met her up in Delaware in 1937.
[02:18.70]She was wearing red lipstick
[02:20.48]to match her pretty dress.
[02:22.16]December 24 at a quarter till 11's
[02:25.36]when I finally gained the courage
[02:27.34]to ask her to dance."
[02:29.08]Ohh, Ohh, Ohhh...
[02:46.31]20 years later as he took his last breath,
[02:49.44]saw a cold Christmas morning in a hospital bed.
[02:52.98]The children had grown.
[02:54.51]He had nobody left,
[02:56.17]except the little old nurse who was holding his hand.
[03:00.75]He said, "Ma'am, could you share a little holiday cheer?"
[03:04.19]A simple Christmas story's all he wanted to hear,
[03:07.55]but his eyes filled with tears at the words she spoke,
[03:10.79]because his favorite Christmas story was the one that she told.
[03:15.82]She said, "I met him up in Delaware in 1937,
[03:19.30]though I never caught his name.
[03:21.10]He was a traveling man.
[03:23.12]December 24 at a quarter till 11.
[03:26.18]I'm so glad he got the courage to ask me to dance."
[03:30.04]