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Oh, the minarets of Constantinople
Are plated gold, ivory and opal
Their cupolas all onion-domed and light
And the magistrate of Constantinople
Has made a match; his family was hopeful
Their daughter would be promised a wedding night
But the Sultan's weary bride, she won't be wed tonight
Nor fall beneath a canopy to lie
For far across the town, her lover now is drowned
And painted by the Bosporus in blue
And there's nothing for a broken heart to do
Down the dirty streets of Constantinople
The beggars weep, their hands all wide open
Their severed leper limbs all swing and sway
At a windowsill in Constantinople
Our hero sighs to melodies noteful
And gazes on the walls that hold his love
For the Sultan's weary bride, she won't be wed tonight
Nor fall beneath a canopy to lie
For far across the town, her lover's lying drowned
And painted by the Bosporus in blue
And there's nothing for a broken heart to do
No, there's nothing for a broked heart to do
Except cry
Are plated gold, ivory and opal
Their cupolas all onion-domed and light
And the magistrate of Constantinople
Has made a match; his family was hopeful
Their daughter would be promised a wedding night
But the Sultan's weary bride, she won't be wed tonight
Nor fall beneath a canopy to lie
For far across the town, her lover now is drowned
And painted by the Bosporus in blue
And there's nothing for a broken heart to do
Down the dirty streets of Constantinople
The beggars weep, their hands all wide open
Their severed leper limbs all swing and sway
At a windowsill in Constantinople
Our hero sighs to melodies noteful
And gazes on the walls that hold his love
For the Sultan's weary bride, she won't be wed tonight
Nor fall beneath a canopy to lie
For far across the town, her lover's lying drowned
And painted by the Bosporus in blue
And there's nothing for a broken heart to do
No, there's nothing for a broked heart to do
Except cry
Lyrics submitted by Imposs1ble
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Meloy uses heavy and rather accurate imagery to cast the vision of a Renaissance Constantinople in your mind, with its "dirty streets" and "minarets". Hero, the daughter of the emperor in the original story, nevertheless an upper-class figure, is betrothed to an appropriate royal person; but she in truth loves Leander.
Now a brief intermission. Leander may be listening to the "melodies" coming from his lover's wedding, and may have committed suicide. But here is what I think happens, according to the poem.
Each night Leander swims across the Bosporus (the strait that separates Asia and Europe) to reach his lover. Hero, for reasons not relevant, is kept in a tower amidst the Bosporus. They spend the night there and before dawn, Leander checks out. Hero holds out a guiding light for Leander to find the tower without getting lost. But one night Hero falls asleep and Leander loses his direction in the water and eventually drowns. A deranged Hero, finding out about her lover "painted by the Bosporus in blue" throws herself from the tower and dies as well. Sad story.
But I think in this version Hero doesn't fall asleep but is taken away by her father for the match by the magistrate, that's why Leander is drowned. At least that's what I think when I hear it.
One last thing: Maiden Tower had been used as a lighthouse until some decades ago.