Charles Gounod - Maid of Athens

Maid of Athens, ere we part
Give, oh give me back my heart!
Or, since that has left my breast
Keep it now, and take the rest!
Hear my vow before I go
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ

By those tresses unconfined
Woo'd by each Ægean wind;
By those lids whose jetty fringe
Kiss thy soft cheeks' blooming tinge;
By those wild eyes like the roe
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ
By that lip I long to taste;
By that zone-encircled waist;
By all the token-flowers that tell
What words can never speak so well;
By love's alternate joy and woe
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ

Maid of Athens! I am gone:
Think of me, sweet! when alone
Though I fly to Istambol
Athens holds my heart and soul:
Can I cease to love thee? No!
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ