by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
Soothe! soothe! soothe!
Language: English
[Soothe! soothe! soothe! Close on its wave soothes the wave behind, And again another behind embracing and lapping, every one close, But my love soothes not me, not me.]1 Low hangs the moon, it rose late, [It]2 is lagging -- O I think it is heavy [with love,]1 with love. [O madly the sea pushes upon the land, With love, with love. O night! do I not see my love fluttering out among the breakers? What is that little black thing I see there in the white?]1 Loud! loud! loud! Loud I call to you, my love! High and clear I shoot my voice over the waves, Surely you must know who [is here,]1 is here, You must know who I am, my love. [Low-hanging moon! What is that dusky spot in your brown yellow? O it is the shape, the shape of my mate. O moon do not keep her from me any longer. Land! land! O land! Whichever way I turn, O I think you could give me my mate back again if you only would, For I am almost sure I see her dimly whichever way I look.]1 ; 3 [O rising stars! Perhaps the one I want so much will rise, will rise with some of you.]1 O throat! [O trembling throat!]1 Sound clearer through the atmosphere! Pierce the woods, the earth, Somewhere listening to catch you must be the one I want. Shake out carols! Solitary here, the night's carols! Carols of lonesome love! death's carols! Carols under that lagging, yellow, waning moon! O under that moon where she droops almost down into the sea! O reckless despairing carols. But soft! sink low! Soft! let me just murmur, And do you [wait]4 a moment you [husky-nois'd]1 sea, For somewhere I believe I heard my mate responding to me, So faint, I must [be still,]1 be still to listen, But not altogether still, for then she might not come immediately to me. Hither my love! Here I am! here! With this just-sustain'd note I announce myself to you, This gentle call is for you my love, [for you]1. [Do not be decoy'd elsewhere, That is the whistle of the wind, it is not my voice, That is the fluttering, the fluttering of the spray, Those are the shadows of leaves. O darkness! O in vain! O I am very sick and sorrowful.]1 O brown halo in the sky near the moon, drooping upon the sea! O troubled reflection in the sea! O throat! O throbbing heart! [O all --]3 And I singing [uselessly,]1 uselessly all the night. [Yet I murmur, murmur on! O murmurs -- you yourselves make me continue to sing, I know not why.]1 ; 3 [O past! O [life]5! O songs of joy! In the air -- in the woods -- over fields, Loved! loved! loved! loved! loved! But my [love]6 no more, no more with me! We two together no more.]1
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Kilstofte.
2 Kilstofte: "O it"
3 omitted by Delius.
4 Kilstofte: "hush and wait"
5 Delius: "happy life"
6 Delius: "mate"
Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Leaves of Grass, in Sea-Drift, no. 7 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mark Kilstofte (b. 1958), "Lovelost", first performed 1995 [ baritone, chamber ensemble ] [sung text checked 1 time]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934), "Sea-drift", published 1918 [ baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra ]
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2007-07-07
Line count: 62
Word count: 485