Don't go into the night, my child,
Don't go into the night.
Where the black cats' yowl and the hoot of the owl
Will give you a terrible fright.
Don't go into the woods, my child,
Don't go into the woods.
Where the branches wind and ivy binds,
And the toadstools wear dark hoods.
Don't go down to the lake , my child,
Don't go down to the lake.
Do not step aboard the boat there moored
Or you'll lie down and never awake.
There the fairies and the fishes
The merfolk and the trout
Will dance with you, their skin so blue
And their limbs that leap about.
They'll drown your dreams with water
Flood your thoughts with waves
Make you forget the life you once led,
And, my child, you can never be saved.
So don't go into the dark, my child,
Don't go into the dark.
Stay curled in this chair while I comb your hair
By the fire that spits and sparks.
