Six Songs , opus 29

by Jeraldine Saunders Herbison (b. 1941)

1. Daffodils [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Text Authorship:

by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)

See other settings of this text.

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

CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Narcisky"
GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Die Narzissen", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Ich wandert' einsam wie die Wolk'", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , "Nárciszok", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Jak obłok ponad pasmem gór", Warsaw, first published 1907

2. Innisfree [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
      And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
  
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,	
      And evening full of the linnet's wings.
  
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;	
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,	
      I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Text Authorship:

by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "The Lake Isle of Innisfree", appears in The Rose

See other settings of this text.

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

CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Innisfree, l'isola sul lago", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

First published in National Observer, December 1890

Confirmed with The Poetical Works of William B. Yeats in two volumes, volume 1 : Lyrical Poems, The Macmillan Company, New York and London, 1906, page 179.

3. Life [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love --
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry --
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

Text Authorship:

by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967), "Life is fine", appears in One-Way Ticket, first published 1949

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

4. Silver Rain [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English

In time of silver rain
The earth
Puts forth new life again,
Green grasses grow
And flowers lift their heads,
And over all the plain
The wonder spreads
  Of life,
  of life,
  of life! 

In time of silver rain
The butterflies
Lift silken wings
To catch a rainbow cry,
And trees put forth
New leaves to sing
In joy beneath the sky
As down the roadway
Passing boys and girls
Go singing, too,
In time of silver rain
  When spring
  And life
  Are new.

Text Authorship:

by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967), "In time of silver rain", appears in Fields of Wonder, first published 1947

See other settings of this text.

5. The Noise of Waters [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English

All day I hear the noise of waters
 Making moan,
Sad as the sea-bird is, when going
 Forth alone,
He hears the [winds]¹ cry to the waters'
 Monotone.

The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing
 Where I go.
I hear the noise of many waters
 Far below.
All day, all night, I hear them [flowing]²
 To and fro.

Text Authorship:

by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title, appears in Chamber Music, no. 35, first published 1908

See other settings of this text.

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

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Coulthard: "wind's"
² Coulthard: "blowing"

6. Without You

Language: English

Without You
 . . . . . . . . . .

— The rest of this text is not
currently in the database but will be
added as soon as we obtain it. —

Text Authorship:

by Jeraldine Saunders Herbison (b. 1941)

Go to the general single-text view