Page:Themes and variations (IA themesvariations00wils).pdf/62
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
50
Themes and Variations
A LULLABY.
‘Mother, hear! the drums are beating,
Are there soldiers on the share,
Tramping on, and then retreating,
While the distant cannons roar?’
Are there soldiers on the share,
Tramping on, and then retreating,
While the distant cannons roar?’
‘No, no, my dear, you only hear
The breakers calling to the moon;
’Tis only the wind, half awake, half asleep,
Singing a wild and fitful tune.
The breakers calling to the moon;
’Tis only the wind, half awake, half asleep,
Singing a wild and fitful tune.
‘The moon is dreaming, almost seeming
To smile in her sleep on the quiet skies;
The stars can hardly keep from shutting
Their ever-watchful, sparkling eyes.
To smile in her sleep on the quiet skies;
The stars can hardly keep from shutting
Their ever-watchful, sparkling eyes.
‘The nest on the bough is waving now,
But the nestlings sleep in their downy cell;
The butterfly folds up his wings of snow,
And swings in the satin-hung lily-bell.
But the nestlings sleep in their downy cell;
The butterfly folds up his wings of snow,
And swings in the satin-hung lily-bell.
‘Sleep then, my dear, and while you hear
The drowsy music of the shore,
Dream of the foam-clad fairies dancing
Hand-in-hand on its gleaming floor.’
The drowsy music of the shore,
Dream of the foam-clad fairies dancing
Hand-in-hand on its gleaming floor.’