Lyrics
Take this kiss upon the brow
Expressing a farewell with a kiss on the forehead
And in parting from you now
Acknowledging separation from the listener
Thus much let me avow
Asserting a declaration
You're not wrong, who deem
Acknowledging that those who think the speaker's life is like a dream are not wrong
That my days have been a dream
Suggesting that the speaker's experiences have felt dreamlike
Yet if hope has flown away
Contemplating the loss of hope
In a night or in a day
Considering whether hope has disappeared suddenly or gradually
In a vision or in none
Questioning if the loss of hope occurred in a vision or not
Is it therefore the less gone
Contemplating whether the absence of hope diminishes its significance
All that we see or seem
Suggesting that everything perceived is a nested dream
Is but a dream within a dream
Emphasizing the pervasive nature of life as a dream within a dream
I stand amid the roar
Describing the speaker's position in a tumultuous environment
Of a surf-tormented shore
Depicting a shore disturbed by turbulent waves
And I hold within my hand
Highlighting the possession of golden sand in the speaker's hand
Grains of the golden sand
Expressing the scarcity of the sand grains and their gradual escape
How few! Yet how they creep
Commenting on the slow movement of the sand grains
Through my fingers to the deep
Noting the inevitability of losing the sand to the depths
Yet if hope has flown away
Revisiting the theme of lost hope
In a night or in a day
Contemplating the abrupt or gradual departure of hope
In a vision or in none
Questioning if the loss of hope occurred in a vision or not
Is it therefore the less gone
Reflecting on whether the absence of hope diminishes its significance
All that we see or seem
Reiterating that everything perceived is a nested dream
Is but a dream within a dream
Emphasizing the pervasive nature of life as a dream within a dream
While I weep, while I weep
Expressing emotional distress and weeping
O God! can I not grasp them
Pleading with a higher power to grasp the escaping sand
With a tighter clasp
Expressing a desire for a firmer grip on the sand grains
O God! can I not save one
Pleading to save at least one grain from the relentless waves
From the pitiless wave
Highlighting the pitiless nature of the waves
Is all that we see or seem
Questioning the reality of all perceptions as nested dreams
But a dream within a dream
Emphasizing the pervasive nature of life as a dream within a dream
Yet if hope has flown away
Revisiting the theme of lost hope
In a night or in a day
Contemplating the abrupt or gradual departure of hope
In a vision or in none
Questioning if the loss of hope occurred in a vision or not
Is it therefore the less gone
Reflecting on whether the absence of hope diminishes its significance
All that we see or seem
Reiterating that everything perceived is a nested dream
Is but a dream within a dream
Emphasizing the pervasive nature of life as a dream within a dream
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