Shepherd-Boy monologue (Act 3) — Tannhäuser : $b A story of all time

(_sings_) O Gretchen, when the morn is grey, Forsake thy flocks and steal away To that low bank where, shepherds say, The flowers eternal are. Thine eyes should gleam to see me there, As fixed upon a star. And yet thy lips should take a tune, And match me unaware— So steals the sun beside the moon And hides her lustre rare. The bloom upon the peach is fine; The blossom on thy cheek is mine! O kiss me—if you dare! I called thee by the name of love That mothers fear and gods approve, And maidens blush to say— O Gretchen, meet me in the dell We know and love, who love so well, While morn is cold and gray! So, match thy blushes to the dawn; Thy bosom to the rising moon, Until our loves to earth have drawn Some new bewitching tune. Come, Gretchen, in the dusk of day, Where nymphs and dryads creep away Beneath the oaks, to laugh and play And sink in lover’s swoon. We’ll sing them sister songs, and shew What secrets mortal lovers know.