by Fredegond Cecily Shove (1899 - 1949)
Four Nights
Language: English
O when I shut my eyes in spring A choir of heaven's swans I see, They sail on lakes of blue, and sing Or shelter in a willow tree: They sing of peace in heart and mind Such as on earth you may not find. When I lie down in summertime I still can hear the scythes that smite the ripened flowers in their prime, And still can see the meadows white. In summertime my rest is small, If any rest I find at all. In autumn, when my eyes I close I see the yellow stars ablaze Among the tangled winds that rose At sunset in a circled maze; Like armoured nights they ride the skies And prick the closed lids of my eyes. But when in wintertime I sleep I nothing see, nor nothing hear; The angels in my spirit keep A silent watch, and being there They cause my soul to lie as dead A stream enchanted in her bed.
Authorship:
- by Fredegond Cecily Shove (1899 - 1949) [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 Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Four Nights", c1922, published 1925, from Four Poems by Fredegond Shove, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2006-12-09
Line count: 24
Word count: 163