Tell me, tell me, smiling child

Tell me, tell me, smiling child,

What the past is like to thee?

"An autumn evening soft and mild

With a wind that sighs mournfully."

Tell me, what is the present hour?

"A green and flowery spray

Where a young bird sits gathering its power

To mount and fly away."

Tell me, tell me, what is the future, happy one?

"A sea beneath a cloudless sun;

a mighty, glorious, dazzling sea

Stretching into infinity.