And I have sat amid the turbulent crowd, And have assisted at their boisterous play; I have unbent myself and shouted loud And been as blatant and as coarse as they. I have consorted with vulgarity And am indelibly marked with its fell kiss, Meanly I lived upon casual charity Eagerly drinking of the dregs of bliss.
Shine and Dark
Song Cycle by Aribert Reimann (b. 1936)
1. And I have sat  [sung text checked 1 time]
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title, written 1898
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Researcher for this page: Peter Schoene2. Yea, for this love  [sung text checked 1 time]
Yea, for this love of mine I have given all I had; For she was passing fair, And I was passing mad. All flesh, it is said, Shall wither as the grass; The fuel for the oven Shall be consumed, alas!
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title, written 1898
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Researcher for this page: Peter Schoene3. Of thy dark life  [sung text checked 1 time]
Of thy dark life, without a love, without a friend, Here is, indeed, an end. There are no lips to kiss this foul remains of thee, O, dead Unchastity! The curse of loneliness broods silent on thee still, Doing its utmost will, And men shall cast thee justly to thy narrow tomb, A sad and bitter doom.
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title, written 1898
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Researcher for this page: Peter Schoene4. Requiem aeternam  [sung text checked 1 time]
'Requiem eternam dona ei, Domine'; Silently, sorrowfully I bent down my head, For I had hated him -- a poor creature of clay: And all my envious, bitter cruel thoughts that came Out of the past and stood by the bier whereon he lay Pointed their long, lean fingers through the gloom... O Name, Ineffable, proud Name to whom the cries ascend From lost, angelical orders, seraph flame to flame For this end have I hated him -- for this poor end?
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title
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Researcher for this page: Peter Schoene5. I intone the high anthem  [sung text checked 1 time]
I intone the high anthem, Partaking in their festival. Swing out, swing in, the night is dark, Magical hair, alive with glee, Winnowing spark after spark, Star after star, rapturously. Toss and toss, amazing arms; Witches, weave upon the floor Your subtle-woven web of charms... Some are comely and some are sour, Some are dark as wintry mould, Some are fair as a golden shower. To music liquid as a stream They move with dazzling symmetry; Their flashing limbs blend in a gleam Of luminous-swift harmony. They wear gold crescents on their heads, Hornèd and brilliant as the moon...
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title, written 1901
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Researcher for this page: Peter Schoene6. Wind thine arms  [sung text checked 1 time]
Wind thine arms round me, woman of sorcery, While the lascivious music murmurs afar: I will close mine eyes, and dream as I dance with thee, And pass away from the world where my sorrows are. Faster and faster! strike the harps in the hall! Woman, I fear that this dance is the dance of death! Faster!-- ah, I am faint... and, ah, I fall. The distant music mournfully murmureth...
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title
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Researcher for this page: Peter Schoene7. Let us fling  [sung text checked 1 time]
Let us fling to the winds all moping and madness, Play us a jig in the spirit of gladness On the creaky old squeaky strings of the fiddle. The why of the world is an answerless riddle Puzzlesome, tiresome, hard to unriddle. To the seventeen devils with sapient sadness: Tra la, tra la.
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title
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Researcher for this page: Peter Schoene