AH! WHO CAN SAY?
I
Throw down the lute and seize the lance,
This is no time for song and dance;
Go quench the festive lamps again;
And check the bard's too joyous strain!
At dawn of day they'll ride away—
When to return—ah! who can say?
II
How full of change, and full of strife
Must be the warrior's roving life!
But danger gives his heart relief—
He hath no time to nourish grief.
At dawn of day, they'll ride away—
When to return—ah! who can say?
III
But woman has a dreary fate—
He goes—she lingers at the gate—
And where he left her, lives to miss
All that once made that life seem bliss!
At dawn of day they'll ride away—
When to return—ah! who can say?
