Tune: Londonderry Air (also known as “Danny Boy”, “My Gentle Harp” and probably other titles.)

Sue Ann Bowling

The harp and lute are singing as the sun goes down,
The river runs, and carries off the day,
I wander lonely, staring at the stars above
As I have wandered since you went away.
Oh, soul of mine, why did you have to leave me here?
Leave me alone, when half my soul’s with you?
Even the moon is waning now, as wanes my heart,
How can I stand to wait until the moon is new?

But I must wait, and watch the moon, and wander
Beneath the stars, and underneath the storm,
And trust your promise that you will return to me
When waning moon begins to wax once more.
Then will I listen, with my eager heart afire,
For trumpet’s blast that marks the rising sun,
When your return will light up all the sky for me,
And our lives’ twofold course at last will be begun.