 | Songs and ballads by Samuel Lover |  |
217
THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS.
[_]
The mystery attendant upon the Councils of Venice increased the terror of their rule. A covered bridge between the Ducal palace and the State prison served as a private passage, by which suspected or condemned persons were transferred at once from examination to the dungeon—hence it was called “The Bridge of Sighs.”
Above the sparkling waters,
Where Venice crowns the tide,
Behold the home of sorrow
So near the home of pride;
A palace and a prison
Beside each other rise,
And, dark between, a link is seen—
It is “The Bridge of Sighs.”
Row, gondolier, row fast, row fast,
Until that fatal bridge be past.
Where Venice crowns the tide,
Behold the home of sorrow
So near the home of pride;
A palace and a prison
Beside each other rise,
And, dark between, a link is seen—
It is “The Bridge of Sighs.”
Row, gondolier, row fast, row fast,
Until that fatal bridge be past.
But not alone in Venice
Are joy and grief so near;
To day the smile may waken,
To morrow wake the tear;
'Tis next the “House of mourning”
That Pleasure's palace lies,
'Twixt joy and grief the passage brief—
Just like “The Bridge of Sighs.”
Row, gondolier, row fast, row fast,
Until that fatal bridge be past.
Are joy and grief so near;
To day the smile may waken,
To morrow wake the tear;
'Tis next the “House of mourning”
That Pleasure's palace lies,
'Twixt joy and grief the passage brief—
Just like “The Bridge of Sighs.”
Row, gondolier, row fast, row fast,
Until that fatal bridge be past.
218
Who seeks for joy unclouded,
Must never seek it here;
But in a purer region—
And in a brighter sphere;
To lead the way before us,
Bright hope unfailing flies:—
This earth of ours, to Eden's bowers
Is but a “Bridge of Sighs.”
Fly, fly sweet hope, fly fast, fly fast,
Until that bridge of sighs be past.
Must never seek it here;
But in a purer region—
And in a brighter sphere;
To lead the way before us,
Bright hope unfailing flies:—
This earth of ours, to Eden's bowers
Is but a “Bridge of Sighs.”
Fly, fly sweet hope, fly fast, fly fast,
Until that bridge of sighs be past.
| Songs and ballads by Samuel Lover | |