by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
I know a hundred ways to die
Language: English
I know a hundred ways to die. I've often thought that I'd try one: Lie down beneath a motor truck Some day when standing by one. Or throw myself from off a bridge -- Except such things must be So hard upon the scavengers And men that clean the sea. I know some poison I could drink. I've often thought I'd taste it. But mother bought it for the sink, And drinking it would waste it.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), no title, appears in Poems Selected for Young People, in From a Very Little Sphinx, no. 4, first published 1929 [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 John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Ways to die", 1971 [soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano], from From a Very Little Sphinx: Five Songs for Soprano or Mezzo-soprano, no. 4. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
This text (or a part of it) is used in a work
- by Michael Armand Fink (b. 1939), "From a very little sphinx", published 1969. [soprano, SSAA chorus, and string quartet or strings]
- by Bernard Wagenaar (1894 - 1971), "From a very little sphinx", published 1926. [soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 75