The Third Man Theme
Perez Prado and His Orchestra Lyrics

When a zither starts to play
When the musical instrument called zither begins to produce sound

You'll remember yesterday
You will recall memories of the past

In its haunting strain
Through its captivating melody

Vienna lives again
The city of Vienna is brought back to life

Free and bright and gay
With a sense of liberation, brightness, and joyfulness

In your mind a sudden gleam
A sudden spark of recollection in your thoughts

Of a half forgotten dream
Of a dream that was partially faded from memory

Seems to glimmer when you hear the third man theme
Seems to reappear faintly when you listen to the third man theme

Once again there comes to mind
Once again, someone or something comes to your thoughts

Someone that you left behind
Someone you left in the past

Love that somehow didn't last
A love affair that, for some reason, didn't endure

In that happy city of the past
In that joyful city from bygone times

Does she still recall the dream
Does she still remember the shared dream

That rapture so supreme
That intense feeling of delight and bliss

When first she heard the haunting third man theme
When she first listened to the mesmerizing third man theme

Carnivals and carousels and Ferris wheels and parasols
Carnivals, merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, and sunshades

The Danube nights, the dancing lights again will shine
The nights spent by the Danube River, with the shining dancing lights

The zither's sweet refrain
The melodious and pleasant repetition of the zither's sound

Keeps swirling in your brain
Continues to revolve in your mind

Like new may wine
Similar to the taste and freshness of newly produced May wine

Strauss waltzes, candle-glow
The waltzes composed by Strauss, the soft illumination of candles

And the laughter of long ago
And the laughter from distant times

Fill the magic chords and make it seem like today
Fill the enchanting musical notes and create the illusion of it being the present

You never knew that you could be
You were not aware that you could experience

Enchanted by a melody
Fascinated by a specific sequence of musical notes

The years will never drive it out
The passing of time will never make it fade away

You don't know why
You are unaware of the reason

It's something you can't live without
It is something you cannot exist without

You hear it in the twilight hush
You perceive it in the peacefulness of dusk

And in the morning traffic rush
And during the busy flow of morning traffic

A song that's always new
A composition that is perpetually fresh

In your heart a part of you
Deep within your heart, a component of your being

Oh, shines so brightly when you hear the third man theme
Oh, radiates so brilliantly when you listen to the third man theme