[Verse 1] Beside the window, soft with light, a woman reads a letter alone. The afternoon warms her lowered eyes and turns her pale-blond hair to gold. [Verse 2] The hand that holds the folded page— does it cradle it like a gift? Or does it cling with a secret heat? We cannot tell. We cannot know. [Pre-Chorus] What does the letter say to her? And whose dear hand has written it? She will not answer, making us wait. So gently, we begin to search. [Refrain] Omnia fert aetas, animum quoque. [Verse 3] We lift old varnish, layer by layer, as though unearthing buried gold. And Cupid rises from the wall— an old sweet love, revealed at last. [Verse 4] We ask her, breathless with surprise, “Why hide a truth so sweet as this?” Against our haste, she answers low, and quietly speaks these words to us: [Refrain] Omnia fert aetas, animum quoque. [Verse 5] “I never meant to hide it from you. I had forgotten it myself. It was so very long ago, and so much has happened since that day. [Verse 6] As years pass by, new memories grow. Colors fade; new pleasures bloom. And softly, layer after layer, old loves are covered—is that not so?” [Refrain] Omnia fert aetas, animum quoque. [Post-Chorus] Conosco i segni de l’antica fiamma. [Verse 7] “They called me lovely in those days, when love still burned upon the wall. But years and memories gave me room, and some found beauty in my hush. [Verse 8] To live beside an old love’s flame, or let it drift with passing time— I think that either life is good. But tell me—which one would you choose?” [Final Refrain] Omnia fert aetas, animum quoque. Conosco i segni de l’antica fiamma.
