Velvet shoes | Let us walk in the white snow

by Elinor Wylie (1885 - 1928)

Let us walk in the white snow

Language: English

Our translations: GER

Let us walk in the white snow
  In a soundless space;
With footsteps quiet and slow,
  At a tranquil pace,
Under veils of white lace.

I shall go shod in silk,
  And you in wool,
White as white cow's milk,
  More beautiful
Than the breast of a gull.

We shall walk through the still town
  In a windless peace;
We shall step upon white down,
  Upon silver fleece,
Upon softer than these.

We shall walk in velvet shoes:
  Wherever we go
Silence will fall like dews
  On [white]¹ silence below.
We shall walk in the snow.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• R. Thompson

R. Thompson sets stanzas 1-2, 4

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Thompson: "the white"

Text Authorship:

by Elinor Wylie (1885 - 1928), "Velvet shoes", appears in Nets to Catch the Wind, first published 1921 [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 Evan Copley , "Velvet shoes", published 1982 [ SSA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Velvet shoes", published 1950 [ medium-high voice and piano ], from Two Lyrics by Elinor Wylie [sung text not yet checked]
by Louise M. Evans , "Velvet shoes", published 1943 [ SSA chorus and piano ad libitum ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Richard Hageman (1881 - 1966), "Velvet shoes", published 1954 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Mary (Carlisle) Howe (1882 - 1964), "Let us walk in the white snow", published 1948 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Reginald Chauncey Robbins (1871 - 1955), "Velvet shoes", published 1941 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Hale Smith (b. 1925), "Velvet shoes", published 1974 [ medium voice and piano ], from The Valley Wind [sung text not yet checked]
by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "Velvet shoes", 1982 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Katharine Faulkner Swift (1897 - 1993), "Velvet Shoes" [ voice and piano ], from Poems In Praise of Practically Nothing, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Randall Thompson (1899 - 1984), "Velvet shoes", published 1938, stanzas 1-2,4 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Russell Woollen (1923 - 1994), "Velvet shoes", 1961 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from 3 Madrigals [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-08-31
Line count: 20
Word count: 97