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Six Songs , opus 33
by Ian Venables (b. 1955)
1. The Way Through
Language: English
Authorship:
- by Jennifer Andrews , "The Way Through", written 1999, appears in Where the Green Sunlight Beckons, copyright ©
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This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.2. It Rains  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
It rains, and nothing stirs within the fence Anywhere through the orchard's untrodden, dense Forest of parsley. The great diamonds Of rain on the grassblades there is none to break, Or the fallen petals further down to shake. And I am nearly as happy as possible To search the wilderness in vain though well, To think of two walking, kissing there, Drenched, yet forgetting the kisses of the rain: Sad, too, to think that never, never again, Unless alone, so happy shall I walk In the rain. When I turn away, on its fine stalk Twilight has fined to naught, the parsley flower Figures, suspended still and ghostly white, The past hovering as it revisits the light.
Authorship:
- by Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917), "It rains"
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]3. Vitae Summa Brevis  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
They are not long, the weeping and the laughter, Love and desire and hate: I think they have no portion in us after We pass the gate. They are not long, the days of wine and roses: Out of a misty dream Our path emerges for a while, then closes Within a dream.
Authorship:
- by Ernest Christopher Dowson (1867 - 1900), "Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam", appears in Verses, London, Leonard Smithers, first published 1896
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Confirmed with Ernest Dowson, Verses, London: Leonard Smithers, 1896, front matter.
Research team for this page: David K. Smythe , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
4. The November Piano
Language: English
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Authorship:
- by Charles Bennett , "The November Piano", appears in Wintergreen, first published 2002, copyright ©
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This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.5. Break, break, break  [sung text checked 1 time]
Language: English
Break, break, [break,]1 On [thy]2 cold grey stones, O Sea! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me. [O]3 well for the fisherman's boy, That he shouts [with]4 his sister at play! [O]3 well for the sailor lad, That he sings in his boat on the bay! And the stately ships [go]5 on To their haven under the hill; But O for the touch of a [vanish'd]6 hand, And the sound of a voice that is still! Break, break, [break,]1 At the foot of thy crags, O Sea! But the tender grace of a day that is dead Will never come back to me.
Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in Poems, Volume II, first published 1842
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View original text (without footnotes)Poet's note: "Made in a Lincolnshire lane at five o'clock in the morning, between blossoming hedges." Written in memory of Tennyson's friend Arthur Hallam (d. 1833).
1 Végh: "o sea, o sea"2 Manning: "the"
3 Manning: "Ah"
4 Manning: "to"
5 Manning: "sail"
6 Végh: "vanished"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
6. The Hippo  [sung text checked 1 time]
Language: English
A head or tail which does he lack? [ ... ]
Authorship:
- by Theodore Roethke (1908 - 1963), "The Hippo", copyright ©
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