Under the lindens we wandered,

Gaily my love and I;

Light through the shimmering leaflets

Fell like a kiss from the sky.

On to her soft, golden tresses,

Into her eyes divine,

Smothered her form with caresses,

Blended her shadow with mine.

Under the lindens we wandered;

Fifty years had gone by;

Light through the cold, naked branches

Fell like a pall from the sky.

Old and forsaken, our children

Had left us to starve and to die;

But we lived in the past one sweet moment

’Neath the lindens, my love and I.