O empty day! The void is ever widening Shadows descend, the world without an end What do we strive for? Dust upon the ages All dreams are fading, and every soul must bend Long is the night, and silent grows the meaning We reach for stars, but stars themselves decay Despair and awe, alone in fleeting being— O empty day, O empty day Despair and awe, alone in fleeting being— O empty day! O sacred night! The stillness softly holding Veils all in silver, yet wonder fills the air Shadows invite, the starlight gently folding Each breath a prayer, each silence laced with care Moonbeams awake forgotten streams of feeling The world renews as every hour slips by I walk in awe, and joy within me stealing— O sacred night, O sacred night I walk in awe, and joy within me stealing— O sacred night! O silent hours! I turn away unseeing Tasteless the bread, the wine an empty cup The laugh of friends, the warmth of bodies fleeing Blind to the sky, I never look up The bells may ring, the colors all surround me I drift untouched by every song and sign The day goes by, and nothing real has found me— O empty day, O empty day The day goes by, and nothing real has found me— O empty day! O gentle night! I savor every longing Candlelit bread, the wine a glowing red Footsteps of friends, and every shadow thronging Welcome the sky, the stars above my head The bells ring soft, their music washing through me I feel the song in every breath and sign The night bestows its miracle upon me— O sacred night, O sacred night The night bestows its miracle upon me— O sacred night! O souls entwined! We walk between the silence Dusk and the dawn, we welcome night and day I greet the night, I sing the dawn, each balance One soul at rest, one spirit on its way For though we fade, our song is never ending In love and awe, the darkness births the ray So let us strive, and let us keep on singing— O sacred day, O sacred night So let us strive, and let us keep on singing— O sacred day! O sacred night!
