Some say that Love's a little boy And some say [he's]1 a bird, Some say [he]2 makes the world go round And some say that's absurd: But when I asked the man next door Who looked as if he knew, His wife was very cross indeed And said it wouldn't do. Does it look like a pair of pyjamas Or the ham in a temperance hotel, Does its odour remind one of llamas Or has it a comforting smell? Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is Or soft as eiderdown fluff, Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges? O tell me the truth about love. I looked inside the summer-house, It wasn't ever there, I've tried the Thames at Maidenhead And Brighton's bracing air; I don't know what the blackbird sang Or what the roses said, But it wasn't in the chicken-run Or underneath the bed. [ ... ] Can it pull extraordinary faces, Is it usually sick on a swing, Does it spend all its time at the races Or fiddling with pieces of string, Has it views of its own about money, Does it think Patriotism enough, Are its stories vulgar but funny? O tell me the truth about love. Your feelings when you meet it, I Am told you can't forget. I've sought it since I was a child But haven't found it yet; I'm getting on for thirty-five, And still I do not know What kind of creature it can be That bothers people so. [ ... ]
Cabaret Songs
Song Cycle by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)
1. Tell me the truth about love  [sung text checked 1 time]
Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), "O tell me the truth about love"
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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
View original text (without footnotes)Note: Britten's setting begins with a spoken line that does not appear in the Auden poem: "Liebe l'amour amor amoris."
1 Britten: "it's"
2 Britten: "it"
Researcher for this page: David K. Smythe
2. Funeral Blues  [sung text checked 1 time]
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead, Put crêpe [bows]1 round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love [would]2 last for ever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now: put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods; For nothing now can ever come to any good.
Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), no title, appears in The Ascent of F6, first published 1936
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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
View original text (without footnotes)1 Britten: "bands"
2 Britten: "could"
Researcher for this page: David K. Smythe
3. Johnny  [sung text checked 1 time]
O the valley in the summer where I and my John Beside the deep river would walk on and on While the [flowers]1 at our feet and the birds up above [Argued so sweetly on]2 reciprocal love, And I leaned on his shoulder; "O Johnny, let's play": But he frowned like thunder and he went away. O [that Friday]3 near Christmas as I well recall When we went to the Charity Matinee Ball, The floor was so smooth and the band was so loud And Johnny so handsome I felt so proud; "Squeeze me tighter, dear Johnny, let's dance till it's day": But he frowned like thunder and he went away. Shall I ever forget at the Grand Opera When music poured out of each wonderful star? Diamonds and pearls they hung [dazzling]4 down Over each [silver or golden silk]5 gown; "O [John]6 I'm in heaven" I whispered to say: But he frowned like thunder and he went away. O but he was as fair as a garden in flower, As slender and tall as the great Eiffel Tower, When the waltz throbbed out [on]7 the long promenade O his eyes and his smile they went straight to my heart; "O marry me, Johnny, I'll love and obey": But he frowned like thunder and he went away. O last night I dreamed of you, Johnny, my lover, You'd the sun on one arm and the moon on the other, The sea it was blue and the grass it was green. Every star rattled a round tambourine; Ten thousand miles deep in a pit there I lay: But you frowned like thunder and you went away.
Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), "Johnny", appears in Another Time, first published 1940
See other settings of this text.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
View original text (without footnotes)1 Britten: "grass"
2 Britten: "Whispered so soft in"
3 Britten: "the evening"
4 Britten: "like ivy"
5 Britten: "gold and silver"
6 Britten: "Johnny"
7 Britten: "down"
Researcher for this page: David K. Smythe
4. Calypso  [sung text checked 1 time]
Driver, drive faster and make a good run Down the Springfield Line under the shining sun. Fly like the aeroplane, don't pull up short Till you brake [for Grand]1 Central Station, New York. For there in the middle of that waiting hall Should be standing the one that I love best of all. If he's not there to meet me when I get to town, I'll stand on the [pavement]2 with tears rolling down. For he is the one that I love to look on, The acme of kindness and perfection. He presses my hand and he says he loves me Which I find an admirable peculiarity. The woods are bright green on both sides of the line; The trees have their loves though they're different from mine. But the poor fat old banker in the sun-parlour car Has no one to love him except his cigar. If I were the head of the Church or the State I'd powder my nose and just tell them to wait. For love's more important and powerful than Even a priest or a politician.
Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), "Calypso", appears in Another Time, first published 1940
See other settings of this text.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
View original text (without footnotes)1 Britten: "for the Grand"
2 Musto: "side-walk"
Researcher for this page: David K. Smythe