Thank you all for your comments and suggestions!
I had already replaced the word "foreign" with "hostile" to put more weight on the title (thank you, Phil, for pointing that out). Adopting other suggestions I also replaced the two "gentle"s with "soothing" and "whispered".
Allen, you might be referring to the first version when you state that I'm "saying the same thing in different words". We (the composer and me) had already changed the song's structure so we're now simply repeating the very first part - and with the very same words. I believe that this 'framing' rounds out the song nicely. It gives it a more recognizable structure. And although it was not my idea I feel more comfortable with it (I'm old and conservative, you see).
Thanks again!
Bernd