A Fairy Song

Stay, silver ray,
Till our airy way we wing
To the shade of the glade
Where the fairies dance and sing:
The mortals are asleep-
They can never understand
That night brings delight,
It is day in Fairyland.

Float, golden note,
From the lute strings all in tune,
Climb, quiv’ring chime,
Up the moonbeams to the moon.
There is music on the river,
There is music on the strand
Night brings delight,
It is day in Fairyland.

Sing while we swing
From the bluebell’s lofty crest.
“Hey! Come and play,
Sleepy songbirds in your nest;
The glow-worm lamps are lit,
Come and join our Elfin band,
Night brings delight,
It is day in Fairyland.”

Roam thro’ the home
Where the little children sleep,
Light in our flight
Where the curly ringlets peep
Some shining eyes may see us,
But the babies understand,
Night brings delight,
It is day in Fairyland.

From the Oppereta “Freda and the fairies,” by Caroline Maude Viscountess Hawarden.

By kind permission of Caroline Maude Viscountess Hawarden.

Prose, Poems & Parodies of Percy French, 1980, Helicon Limited, Dublin.