One fond kiss, Love, then we sever;
Then goodbye, I fear, for ever.
Drowned in heart-felt tears, I’ll pledge thee;
In your pale, fragile hands a valuable key.

Can this survive? Does love fade from the heart?
Can we still be together even if we‘re apart?
My absence cannot make me free;
The key to my heart, in your hands, is your plea.

Can one say that cruel fate grieves;
If the slightest hope she leaves?
As for me, no star does light me;
The depths of despair, pitch black, benight me.

I’ll never regret our fleeting love;
Though cursed with brevity, a gift from above.
To see you is to love you;
Our love I will never rue.

What if we’d never loved so blindly
Or had never loved so kindly
If never met or never parted
We would never have been broken-hearted

Farewell now, first and fairest
Farewell now, my only dearest
You were once my joy and treasure;
I wish you other love, and pleasure.
One last kiss, Love, then we sever
And then goodbye, now true, for ever