Let the eyes hold what the lids can contain From the overflow of the world Let the cider press hold the skin and the stain And the cider run clear and cold Youre just playing Jerusalem against Athens Reason and the passions Thought into action Strangers play Jerusalem against Athens Just to see what happens Just to feed the fashion for it Two men brought low by the drinking of wine One did but sing, the other but sigh That skin must learn its lines From the wilting waves and the imperfect rhyme The tiller of the soil and the keeper of sheep All the days of their lives, in sorrow will eat Scoured by the wind, and the sea and the brine As the winedark waves wilt into the squall line CHORUS While you twist your locksee, it grows grey Pluck the strand, and throw it away Limbs exposed by lascivious winds shine And the waves wilt into the shoreline WhileCHORUS Let the eyes hold what the lids can contain From the overflow of the world Let the cider press hold the skin and the stain And the cider run clear and cold
cider, athens, contain, wilt, overflow