Over the hills and far away, Deep in a shady dell,The crystal fountains leap and play,
A dream of delight is the livelong day, Over the hills and far away,In the land where the fairies dwell.
Never a trouble or worldly care Into that dell may come;The sweetest flowers breathe perfume rare, The wattle-tree loosens her golden hair,And softly floats on the languid air The wild bee"s drowsy hum.
The tall fern spreads a graceful wing To shut the light away;And ever the fountains laugh and sing,
The moss and the maidenhair climb and cling, And the bell-bird"s note doth sweetly ringTo the drip of the silver spray.
Here, where the moon and stars are bright, The fairies dance and sing,Down through the air, each tiny sprite Floats in a robe of filmy white,On the smooth greensward, the livelong night, To trip in a mystic ring--To the music made by the waving tree Stirred by the fresh night air,While the moon looks down and laughs with glee, And each little star winks merrily;And it"s oh, "twere good for an hour to be With the fairies dancing there.
So hush thee, hush, my baby boy; Let slumber weave her spell;And you shall roam till break of day
Where the laughing fountains leap and p]ay, Over the hills and far away,In the land where the fairies dwell.
- John Harrison WaGner
About the Author.-John Harrison WaGner was a journalist who lived for some time in Australia. He wrote few poems.
About the Poem.-Even if the poem were called "A Cradle Song," how would you know that it was an Australian cradle song? What sound should a cradle song have? Is it the sound of this poem? Make a drawing for the verse you like best.
