by George John Whyte-Melville (1821 - 1878)
Language: English
Falling leaf and fading tree, Lines of white in a sullen sea, Shadows rising on you and me; Shadows rising on you and me; The swallows are making them ready to fly, Wheeling out on a windy sky. Goodbye Summer! Goodbye! Goodbye! Hush! a voice from the far away! "Listen and learn," it seems to say, "All the tomorrows shall be as today." "All the tomorrows shall be as today." The cord is frayed, the cruse is dry, The link must break, and the lamp must die -- Goodbye to Hope! Goodbye! Goodbye! What are we waiting for? Oh, my heart! Kiss me straight on the brows! and part again! Again! my heart! my heart! What are we waiting for, you and I? A pleading look, a stifled cry. Goodbye, forever! Goodbye, forever! Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!
Note for stanza 2, line 5, word 6: "cruse" is an archaic word for "cup"
Researcher for this page: Jean Peccei
Composition:
- Set to music by Francesco Paolo Tosti (1846 - 1916), "Goodbye!", also set in Italian (Italiano)
Text Authorship:
- by George John Whyte-Melville (1821 - 1878)
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , "さようなら!", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "¡Adiós!", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Jean Peccei
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 135