by James Stephens (1882 - 1950)
Now the winds are riding by
Language: English
Now the winds are riding by, Clouds are galloping the sky. And the trees are lashing their Leafy plumes upon the air ; They are crying as they sway -- "Pull the roots out of the clay. Dance away, O, dance away; Leave the rooted place and speed To the hill-side and the mead. To the roaring seas we go. Chase the airy birds, and know. Flying high, flying high. All the freedom of the sky. All the freedom of the sky."
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by James Stephens (1882 - 1950), "And it was windy weather", appears in Songs from the Clay, first published 1915 [author's text not yet checked 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 Samuel Hans Adler (b. 1928), "And it was stormy weather", published 1963 [ high voice and piano ], from Four Poems of James Stephens, no. 4, Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "The freedom of the sky", 1983 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dorothy Parke , "As it was windy weather", 1962 [ chorus (a cappella?) ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 81