Four Miniatures

Light the lamps up, lamplighter,
The people are in the street
Without a light
They have no sight,
And where will they plant their feet?
Some will tread in the gutter
And some in the mud, oh dear!
Light the lamps up, lamplighter,
Because the night is here.

Light the candles, grandmother,
The children are going to bed
Without a wick
They'll stumble and stick,
And where will they lay their head?
Some will sleep on the staircase,
And some on the hearth -- oh dear!
Light the candles, grandmother,
Because the night is here.

Light the stars up, Gabriel,
The cherubs are out to fly
If heaven is blind
How will they find
Their way across the sky?
Some will splash in the Milky Way,
Or bump on the moon, oh dear!
Light the stars up, Gabriel,
Because the night is here.

Oh, the falling snow!
Where does it all come from?
Whither does it go?

Never, never laughing,
Never, never weeping,
Falling, falling, in its sleep,
For ever ever sleeping.

From what sleep of heaven
Does it flow, and go
Into what sleep of earth?

The night will never stay,
The night will still go by,
Though with a million stars
You pin it to the sky,

Though you bind it with the blowing wind
And buckle it with the moon,
The night will slip away,
Like sorrow, or a tune.

Who calls?
Did you call?
I call!

Follow where I fly.
Where?
Follow where you fly.

O where?
On earth or in the air?

Where you come,
I'm gone!
Where you fly,
I've flown!

Stay!
Ah, stay, and play!

Who calls?
Did you call?
I call!

Tell me where you are.
Ha, ha, ha...