by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Translation by Karoline (or Caroline) Wilhelmine Leonhardt (1811 - 1899), as Caroline Leonhardt Pierson
When cats run home and light is come
Language: English
Available translation(s): GER
When cats run home and light is come And dew is cold upon the ground, And the far-off stream is dumb, And the whirring sail goes round; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits. When merry milkmaids click the latch, And rarely smells the new-mown hay, And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch Twice or thrice his round-e-lay; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "Song -- The owl", appears in Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, first published 1830 [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 Herbert Kennedy Andrews (1904 - 1965), "When cats run home", published 1945 [ high voice and piano ], from Two Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johan Backer-Lunde (1874 - 1958), "The owl", op. 42 no. 2 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Seymour Barab (1921 - 2014), "The owl", copyright © 1979 [ soprano or tenor, recorder, and guitar ], from Bagatelles, no. 7, New York : Galaxy Music [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Rodney Bennett (1936 - 2012), "The owl", published 1966 [ voice or unison chorus and piano ], from The Aviary, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Richard Bexfield (1824 - 1853), "The owl", published 1881 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by A. (Alfred or Arthur?) Herbert Brewer (1865 - 1928), "When cats run home", published 1927 [ SS chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Bullard (b. 1947), "The owl", 1985, first performed 1985 [ baritone and piano ], from Three Bird Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Bullock, Sir (1890 - 1979), "When cats run home", published 1961 [ SS chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "The owl", published 1962 [ SAB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Chapple , "The owl", published 1928 [ SS chorus or SA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979), "The owl", 1909? [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arnold Atkinson Cooke (1906 - 2005), "The owl", 1956, published 1963 [ soprano or tenor, horn, and piano ], from Nocturnes, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Thomas Frederick Dunhill (1877 - 1946), "The owl", published 1915 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Theodora Dutton , "To the owl", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christopher Montague Edmunds (1899 - 1990), "The owl", published 1930 [ SS chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicolas Flagello (b. 1928), "The owl", published 1964 [ bass-baritone and chamber orchestra or piano ], from The Land [sung text not yet checked]
- by Percival Garratt (1877 - 1953), "The owl", published 1923 [ 2-part chorus of medium-high voices and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by R. A. Gatty , "The owl", published 1869 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Franklin Belknap Gilbert (1868 - 1928), "The owl", published 1910 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Groocock , "The owl", published c1953 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marjorie Helyer , "When cats run home", published 1957 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis Alan Jackson (b. 1917), "The owl", published 1949 [ SSA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob (1895 - 1984), "When cats run home", published 1938 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Parks Jones (b. 1944), "The white owl" [ SATB chorus and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Lavater (1867 - 1953), "The white owl", published 1933 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cuthbert Edward Osmond (1904 - 1937), "The owl", published 1948 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "The owl", published 1909 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Montague Fawcett Phillips (1885 - 1969), "The owl", published 1939 [ SS chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), "The white owl", published 1875 [ voice and piano ], also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Arthur John Pritchard , "When cats run home", published 1947 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daniel Protheroe (1866 - 1934), "The owl", published 1917 [ voices and piano ], from Fifth Year Music [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Owl", op. 113 (1946) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. W. Sidebotham , "The owl", published <<1892 [ chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Silas (1827 - 1909), "The owl", published 1867 [ SATB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold Hinchcliffe Sykes , "The owl", published 1966 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eric Harding Thiman (1900 - 1975), "When cats run home", published 1930 [ 2-part chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vally Weigl, née Pick (c1894 - 1982), "The owl", published 1962-3 [ medium voice and piano ], from Songs for a child [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karoline (or Caroline) Wilhelmine Leonhardt (1811 - 1899) ; composed by Henry Hugo Pierson.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Die weiße Uhl", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 78
Die weiße Eul'
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Wenn's Kätzchen heimkehrt als es tagt, Wenn kalt der Tau liegt auf der Flur, Wenn der ferne Strom ganz still, Und der Sturm die Windmühl jagt; Allein und sinnend allzumal Im Turme sitzt die weiße Eul'. Wenn froh die Milchmaid naht der Tür, Der Duft vom frischen Heu uns labt, Dreimal unter'm Dach der haushahn kräht, Als war er König hier; Allein und sinnend allzumal Im Turme sitzt die weiße Eul'.
Authorship:
- by Karoline (or Caroline) Wilhelmine Leonhardt (1811 - 1899), as Caroline Leonhardt Pierson [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "Song -- The owl", appears in Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, first published 1830
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), "Die weiße Eul'", published 1875. [voice and piano], also set in English [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-08
Line count: 12
Word count: 71