The palanquin bearers speak in chorus as they carry a woman along. They describe her as weightless and lovely: a flower swaying, a bird skimming over foam, a laugh floating out of a dream. Their repeated word “lightly” keeps the movement airy, while “gaily, O gaily” gives it a joyful, almost musical swing. In the second stanza the mood turns softer and more tender. She is compared to a star in dew, a beam on the tide, and a tear from a bride’s eye — images that make her seem delicate, cherished, and perhaps newly married or quietly emotional. The refrain about carrying her “like a pearl on a string” holds everything together: the bearers are proud and careful, treating her as something precious. The overall effect is gentle, celebratory, and dreamlike.
Palanquin Bearers — Summary
Lightly, O lightly we bear her along, She sways like a flower in the wind of our song; She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream, She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream. Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing, We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
Softly, O softly we bear her along, She hangs like a star in the dew of our song; She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide, She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride. Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing, We bear her along like a pearl on a string.