Wilhelm Müller (1794–1827)

FROM the deep, deep bottom of the sea

Sounds the muffled toll of evening bells,

And this far-off ringing wondrously

Of the fair, old wonder-city tells.

Sunk beneath the flood long, long ago,

On the sand the city’s ruins stay;

Golden gleams from battlements below

Brightly mirrored on the water play.

And the skipper who in sunset light

Once has seen the necromantic glow,

To the selfsame place on every night,

Though the cliffs are threatening, must row.

From the deep, deep bottom of the heart,

Toll of muffled bells I seem to hear;

Ah, such wondrous tidings they impart

Of the love that once was held most dear.

Sunk into the depth long, long ago,

Of a lovely world the ruins stay—

Heavenly golden gleams from far below,

In the mirror of my dreams they play.

Then into the deep I want to fall,

Steep myself in all the magic light,

And I seem to hear the angels call

From the ancient wonder-city’s site.