In the middle of the sleeping lake br The Lonesome boatman dwells, br Around him rise the bracken hills br The dreamy glens and dells. br The skies are red and rolling br Tinted in the twilight's velvet hue br The ragged scarecrow peers in relief br To where the crackling crows have flown. br br The lonesome boatman doesn't move br His clothes are old and worn br Oh, lonesome boatman reveal to me why, br Why you look forlorn. br Is it life's sorrows br Or a forgotten memory that you have found br Or do you listen to the wind br For the boatmen you've seen drown? br br Oh, lonesome boatman, there's a gleaming star br High above your head. br The waters glisten in the dusk br Are they tears that you have shed? br Oh, lonesome boatman, the birds are here, br The morning shadows fall. br Oh, friends, why must you be br But a dying shadow on my lonely cell wall.