By the clear fountain,
On my promenade
I found the water so fair
That I stopped there to bathe
I have loved you for a long, long time
Never will I forget you.
Under an oak tree
I dried myself
On its highest branch
A nightingale was singing
I have loved you for a long, long time
Never will I forget you.
Sing, nightingale, sing
You with your carefree heart
Your heart feels like laughing
Mine feels like weeping
I have loved you for a long, long time
Never will I forget you.
I have lost my dear friend
Without just cause
For a bouquet of roses
That I refused her
I have loved her for a long long time
Never will I forget her.
I would that the rose
Were still on its briar
And that my sweet friend
Still there to love me
I have loved her for a long long time
Never will I forget her
I have loved you for a long long time
Never ever will I forget you.