Nobody heard him, the dead man. But still he lay moaning; I was much further our than you thought And not waving but drowning. Poor chap, he always loved larking And now he's dead. It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, They said. Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.
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Text Authorship:
- by Stevie Smith (1903 - 1971), "Not waving but drowning", appears in Not Waving but Drowning, first published 1957 [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 Douglas Young (b. 1947), "Not waving but drowning", 1970 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Not Waving but Drowning [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nina C. Young (b. 1984), "Not waving but drowning", 2009, first performed 2010 [ mixed chorus, viola and piano ], Peer music
Publisher: Peer music [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-06-07
Line count: 12
Word count: 77