Don’t let the rough times make you cry -
Dellius, Dellius, you will die.
Don’t in good times lose your head -
Someday, Dellius, you’ll be dead.
So you can live your life despairing
Wear nihilism like a shroud
Or spend a drunken life not caring
In a hedonistic cloud
But don’t expect a different ending
Than the one we all come by
You can’t stop the river’s wending
Or trees from reaching for the sky.
Might as well enjoy the ride,
Dellius, Dellius, by my side
And appreciate the day
Together, Dellius, while we may.
All the riches you can hoard
Possessions, property, and fame,
No matter how securely stored
Will someday be another's claim.
In a mansion, coffers swelling,
Or meekly in a peasant's shack,
A grave will one day be your dwelling
And nobody can call you back.
Enjoy whatever fortune sends
Dellius, Dellius, for it ends.
Someday, Dellius, we all float
Into the dark on Charon's boat.
