Oft, in the Stilly Night (Scotch Air)
Oft, in the Stilly Night (Scotch Air)
Original Text
Thomas Moore, Lalla Rookh, an oriental romance (London: Longman, 1817). 5th edn. PR 5054 L3 1817 Robarts Library
1Oft, in the stilly night,
2Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
3Fond memory brings the light
4Of other days around me;
5The smiles, the tears,
6Of boyhood's years,
7The words of love then spoken;
8The eyes that shone,
9Now dimm'd and gone,
10The cheerful hearts now broken!
11Thus, in the stilly night,
12Ere slumber's chain hath bound me,
13Sad memory brings the light
14Of other days around me.
15When I remember all
16The friends, so link'd together,
17I've seen around me fall,
18Like leaves in wintry weather;
19I feel like one
20Who treads alone
21Some banquet-hall deserted,
22Whose lights are fled,
23Whose garlands dead,
24And all but he departed!
25Thus, in the stilly night,
26Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
27Sad memory brings the light
28Of other days around me.
Publication Start Year
1817
RPO poem Editors
G. G. Falle
RPO Edition
3RP.II.478; RPO 1996-2000.
Rhyme