The water is wide,

I cannot get o’er,

And neither have I wings to fly.

Give me a boat that will carry two,

And both shall row, my love and I.

 

O down in the meadows the other day,

A gath’ring flowers both fine and gay,

A gath’ring flowers both red and blue,

I little thought what love can do.

 

I put my hand into one soft bush,

Thinking the sweetest flower to find.

I pricked my finger right to the bone,

And left the sweetest flower alone.

 

I leaned my back up against some oak,

Thinking that he was a trusty tree;

But first he bended and then he broke;

And so did my false love to me.

 

O love is handsome, love is fine,

And love’s a jewel while it’s new,

O handsome and fine while it’s new,

But when it is old it groweth cold,

And fades away like morning dew.

 

河水寬廣，我無法涉過，

我也沒有翅膀可以飛越，

給我一條可以乘坐兩人的船，

可以載我與我的愛人。

 

前幾天在草地上，

盛開著美麗的花，

這些盛開著紅色與藍色的花，

但我卻無法為我的愛做些什麼。

 

我把手伸入柔軟的灌木叢裡，

試著尋找那最甜蜜的花朵。

但我的手指被刺痛，卻摘不到最甜蜜的花朵。

 

我靠在橡木上，

感覺它就是可信賴的樹；

但是它很快的就彎曲與斷裂，

就如同我的錯誤的愛。

 

喔！愛是美麗的，是美好的。

當愛是新的時候，它如同寶石，

當愛是新的時候，它是美好的，

但是當它是舊的時候，卻冷卻，

如同清晨的露水消逝。