Oh, Boatman, Haste!

(Music by Balfe.)

Twilight.


Oh, boatman, haste!--The twilight hour
    Is closing gently o'er the lea!
The sun, whose setting shuts the flower.
    Has looked his last upon the sea!
    Row, then, boatman, row!
    Row, then, boatman, row!
Row!--aha!--we've moon and star!
And our skiff with the stream is flowing.
    Heigh-ho!--ah!--heigh-ho!--
    Echo responds to my sad heigh-ho!


Midnight.


Oh, boatman, haste!--The sentry calls
    The midnight hour on yonder shore,
And silvery sweet the echo falls
    As music dripping from the oar!
    Row, then, boatman, row!
    Row, then, boatman, row!
Row!--afar fade moon and star!
While our skiff with the stream is flowing!
    Heigh-ho!--ah!--heigh-ho!--
    Echo responds to my sad heigh-ho.


Dawn.


Oh, boatman haste!--The morning beam
    Glides through the fleecy clouds above:
So breaks on life's dark, murm'ring stream,
    The rosy dawn of woman's love!
    Row, then, boatman, row!
    Row, then, boatman, row!
Row!--'Tis day!--away--away!
To land with the stream we are flowing!
    Heigh-ho!--dear one--ho!
    Beauty responds to my glad heigh-ho!

George Pope Morris

George Pope Morris was an American editor, poet, and songwriter. Born on October 10, 1802, he made significant contributions to American literature and music. Morris co-founded and edited the New York Evening Mirror, where he published works by Edgar Allan Poe and others. He is perhaps best known for his song "Woodman, Spare That Tree!" and his role in the early 19th-century literary scene. Morris died on July 6, 1864, leaving behind a legacy of editorial and creative work that influenced many American writers and musicians.

George Pope Morris

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The Sycamore Shade.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

English

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WRITTEN ON THE RIVER ST. LAWRENCE.^[1]


        et remigem cantus hortatur.
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