From the comic opera “The Ameer”, 1900.
Words by Frederic Ranken.
Music by Victor Herbert.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- Afar in the waves of the sea of dreams
To the Island of fancy fair
Tho’ dark be the night
In my barque speeding light
Oft I dream that I journey there
Then over this ocean of dreams I glide
And it seems that I float along
On a rhythmic refrain and its silvery strain
Is the sound of the sea-nymph’s song
Refrain
Fancies, only, fancies
Phantoms of bygone days
Fantasies old of dreamland
Passing before our gaze
Tho’ we find them everywhere
They’re simply castles in the air
Soon they crumble, soon they fall
Only fancies, that is all
- My own true love there is waiting for me
A waiting with tender smile
Of gold is his hair
He’s tall and he’s fair
This prince of my fancy’s isle
He holds me safe in his fond embrace
Of naught then am I afraid
And my heart beats fast for I know at last
Of a love that can never fade