Song to the Harvest Moon

Charles Mackay

1814 to 1889

Poem Image

In the deep silence of the night,
We come, O harvest, moon,
To dance beneath thy gentle light,
To many a merry tune;
We come, whilst thou in thoughtful sheen 
Art beaming from the blue,
In wild wood lone, and meadow green,
To tread the mellow dew!
And pledge at midnight’s solemn noon 
A health to thee, O harvest moon!

Whilst thou alone dost beam on high, 
In jolly groups we pass,
Among the sheaves of corn and rye, 
To drain the brimming glass;
Or go, when song and dance are o’er, 
A-roaming ’mong the wheat,
To plight our troth, in thickets hoar, 
To many a maiden sweet,
And call on thee, at midnight’s noon, 
To hear our vows, O harvest moon!