You told me tales of love and glory   Same old sad songs, same old story   The sirens sing no lullaby   And no one knows but Lorelei      Castles out of fairy tales   Timbers shivered where once there sailed   The lovesick men who caught her eye   And no one knew but Lorelei      River, river have mercy   Take me down to the sea   For if I perish on these rocks   My love, no more I'll see      I've thought of you in far-off places   I've puzzled over lipstick traces   So help me God, I will not cry   And then I think of Lorelei      I travel far and wander wide   No photograph of you beside me   Old man River's not so shy   And he remembers Lorelei      River, river have mercy   Take me down to the sea   For if I perish on these rocks   My love, no more I'll see      If I should float upon this stream   We'll see you in my madman's dream   I'd sink into your troubled eyes   And none would know 'cept Lorelei      Oh river, river, river have mercy   Take me down to the sea   For if I perish on these rocks   My love, no more I'll see      But if my ship which sails tomorrow   Should crash against these rocks   My sorrows, I will drown before I die   It's you I'll see, not Lorelei