Alone

Laugh and the world will laugh with you, Smile and the people around you will smile too, Weep and you weep alone, For the sad old people who borrow from this earth, They give an expression of mirth, But have trouble enough of their own. Sing and the hills will answer, Sigh as you get lost in the air, Echoes bound to a joyful sound, But shrink from voices that care. Rejoice and they will seek you, Grieve and they turn and go. All they want is a full measure, And to be grateful to share your pleasure, But they do not need your woe. Be glad your friends are many, Be sad or you lose them all; If you need to decline, try not to choose any. The halls are crowded, Fast and the world goes by. Succeed and give, It helps you live, No man deserves to die; There in his room deprived of pleasure Hearing a large and lordly train, One by one we are put on file Through agony of suffering pain.