Outside this house the world has changed Life is swifter than before There is no time for idle gestures I cannot offer you eternal love For we have learned today such words are lies But the brief pleasure of passion Yes, and sweet, long friendship Who can resist your gentle beauty, Erika? Oh, how happy we could be together! Do you know Paris and Rome, Budapest and Vienna? The velvet rooms for jeweled suppers The coast of Spain for solitude The gilded Grand Hotels for dancing The glass and marble stations for goodbyes? This we could share together If you accept my love And, who knows My love might last forever, Erika Life is so brief