by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933)
Old tunes
Language: English
As the waves of perfume, heliotrope, rose, Float in the garden when no wind blows, Come to us, go from us, whence no one knows; So the old tunes float in my mind, And go from me leaving no trace behind, Like fragrance borne on the hush of the wind. but in the instant the airs remain I know the laughter and the pain Of times that will not come again. I try to catch at many a tune Like petals of light fallen from the moon, Broken and bright on a dark lagoon. But they float away-for who can hold Youth, or perfume or the moon's gold?
Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933) [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 Lori Laitman (b. 1955), "Old tunes", 1991-2 [soprano and piano], from The Metropolitan Tower and Other Songs, no. 3. [text verified 1 time]
- by David Evan Thomas (b. 1958), "Old tunes", 2003 [high voice unaccompanied], from Petals fallen from the moon, no. 3. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Dave Evan Thomas
This text was added to the website: 2006-06-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 108