by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Translation by Bliss Carman (1861 - 1929)
Over the roofs the honey‑coloured moon
Language: English after the Aeolic Greek
Over the roofs the honey-coloured moon, With purple shadows on the silver grass, And the warm south-wind on the curving sea, While we two, lovers past all turmoil now, Watch from the window the white sails come in, Bearing what unknown ventures safe to port! So falls the hour of twilight and of love With wizardry to loose the hearts of men, And there is nothing more in this great world Than thou and I, and the blue dome of dusk.
M. Salter sets stanzas 1-3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
M. Salter sets stanzas 4-5 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Bliss Carman, Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics, The Project Gutenberg eBook, 2004.
Text Authorship:
- by Bliss Carman (1861 - 1929), no title, appears in Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics, no. 82 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mary Elizabeth Turner Salter (1856 - 1938), "Over the roofs", published 1909, stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ], from Lyrics from Sappho, no. 7, Huntsville, Tex. : Recital Publications [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Elizabeth Turner Salter (1856 - 1938), "So falls the hour of twilight", published 1909, stanzas 4-5 [ medium voice and piano ], from Lyrics from Sappho, no. 8, Huntsville, Tex. : Recital Publications [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-08
Line count: 10
Word count: 81