Oh what delirious fun this is,
this juggling of crazy balloons!
Up with the crimson one,
down comes the blue;
up with the copper one,
down comes the gold;
up with the cinnamon—
up with them, each of them, all of them here:
The evening star and Venus and Mars,
the morning star and the whole milky way!
I am tossing and catching them,
catching and tossing them,
hundreds of worlds at one time.
Toss and catch, catch and toss,
toss and catch, catch and toss,
more than a child am I!
Oh what delirious fun this is!
Up with Minerva and down with the moon;
up with old Saturn and down with the sky;
up with the blistering sun!
Who ever played with balloons and balloons,
such hundreds of worlds at one time?
Big strong Atlas—he had but one,
the one he was doomed to carry,
while I toss and catch, catch and toss,
toss and catch, catch and toss,
all at one time—
Great Jove, great Zeus, great Jupiter save us!
I almost dropped that little brown ball,
that little brown ball, the earth!
Had I dropped that ball, that little brown ball,
that little brown ball, the earth?