German Drinking Song

Strew roses on the way, And think no more of grief, Short is the passing day, Short-lived the summer leaf; Short is our mortal span Then, ere the minutes die, 'Tis Wisdom's wisest plan To gild them as they fly: The present only is our own, The future dark, and all unknown. Then, O give Grief and Care, O give them to the blast, And make the present fair And brighter than the past! And make the glasses ring, As ye quaff the cheering wine, And a merry chorus sing, Beneath the clustering vine. Sorrow will sink, where Joy will swim; Then fill the bicker to the brim. When underneath the stone We sleep the final sleep, We'll hear no more the tone Of music's wildest sweep; Nor hear the wine-cups meet With tinkling sound of glee, Nor the merry chorus sweet Under the linden-tree: Then let us, in the hope of Heaven, Enjoy on earth what God has given!