by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933)
The Fountain
Language: English
Oh in the deep blue night The fountain sang alone; It sang to the drowsy heart Of a satyr carved in stone. The fountain sang and sang But the satyr never stirred— Only the great white moon In the empty heaven heard. The fountain sang and sang And on the marble rim The milk-white peacocks slept, Their dreams were strange and dim. Bright dew was on the grass, And on the ilex dew, The dreamy milk-white birds Were all a-glisten too. The fountain sang and sang The things one cannot tell, The dreaming peacocks stirred And the gleaming dew-drops fell.
Text Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "The Fountain" [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 Vivian Blythe Owen (1898 - 2000), "The Fountain", op. 22 no. 2 (1958) [ medium voice and piano ], from Songs of the Night, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-01
Line count: 20
Word count: 100