Sing, women of the orient; begin the seaside lay:
Daphnis proached his black lips to the flute
And let a savage note against the ocean spray
Past all the gods of salt to soothe.

Sing, women of the orient; begin the seaside lay:
The ripples gathered by the running shore
And danced like bacchante maidens in their sway,
The coconuts all scattered, palms betrayed.

Sing, women of the orient; begin the seaside lay:
Nerea rose from rosy depths and dressed
Her braids in veils of swarthy gray,
And 'tranced, with equal tones she hymned the blessed.

Sing, women of the orient; begin the seaside lay:
"Galatea, over the far, curved rocks, the trays
Of the slopping tide, bind the seashells in your hair,
Hide lest the red eye catch you, Galatea."

Sing, women of the orient; begin the seaside lay:
"O Kuclops, Kuclops cloaked with sheep that brayed
Their slaughtered limbs for hungry mouths, in your lair
Forebear to slobber with those bloody teeth, O Kuclops, Kuclops."

Sing, women of the orient; begin the seaside lay:
"Galatea, strum your harp with the fine music that lays
The winds through the pithy pipes, impair
The living coral with your feet, and set the flame to sleep, Galatea."

Demure, my muse, demure the woodland pipes:
Eo, Eo, for while the western lights
Blazed azure in the sky
The burning eye was singed in sleep, eo, eo.

Demure, my muse, demure the woodland pipes:
The greedy shepherds on the hill, eo, eo
Tore the mass and ripped the deep
Eo, eo, and feasted on the fleshy thief.

Demure, my muse, demure the woodland pipes:
"You watched, Galatea!" round the dancing rocks
Came Daphnis' cry, by Nerea
"You watched, you watched!"

Demure, my muse, demure the woodland pipes:
And Nerea slipped through the crystal waves
While Venus watched, and Daphnis
Tumbled on the music of his staves (you watched, Galatea!)

Demure, my muse, endure the quiet night.