Irish Songs, WoO 153, 4

Tuesday, April 19, 2021

The next song we will enjoy is WoO 153 number 4, "Since greybeards inform us":

Since Greybeards inform us that youth will decay

And pleasures soft transports glide swiftly away,

The song and the dance and the wine and the fair

Shall banish all sorrow and shield us from care.

Away with your proverbs, your morals and rules,

Your proctors and doctors and pedants and schools,

Then seize the bright moments while yet in our prime

And fast by the forelock catch old Father Time.

Though spring’s lovely blossoms delight us no more,

Though summer forsake us and autumn be o’er,

To cheer us in winter remembrance can bring

The pleasures of autumn, of summer and spring.

So when fleeting seasons bring life’s latest stage,

To speak of youth’s frolics shall gladden our age,

Then seize the bright moments while yet in your prime

And fast by the forelock catch old Father Time.

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