Chorus.

I (α)

Bright day succeedeth unto day-- Night to pensive night-- With his towering ray Of all-fathering light-- With the solemn trance Of her starry dance.--

Nought is new or strange In the eternal change.--

As the light clouds fly O'er the tree-tops high, So the days go by.--

Ripples that arrive On the sunny shore, Dying to their live Music evermore.--

Like pearls on a thread,-- Like notes of a song,-- Like the measur'd tread Of a dancing throng.--

(β)

Ocëanides are we, Nereids of the foam, But we left the sea On the earth to roam With the fairest Queen That the world hath seen.-- Why amidst our play Was she sped away?--

Over hill and plain We have sought in vain; She comes not again.--

Not the Naiads knew On their dewy lawns:-- Not the laughing crew Of the leaping Fauns.--

Now, since she is gone, All our dance is slow, All our joy is done, And our song is woe.--