Songs for Ariel

Song Cycle by Michael Tippett (1905 - 1998)

1. Come unto these yellow sands
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Come unto these yellow sands,
Then take hands:
Curtsied when you have and kissed,
The wild waves whist:
Foot it featly here and there;
And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear.

Hark, hark!
Bow-wow.
The watch dogs bark;
Bow-wow.
Hark, hark!
I hear the strain of strutting Chanticleer
Cry, Cock-a-diddle dow.

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

2. Full fathom five
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, - ding-dong bell.

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

  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Lidy van Noordenburg) , "Vijf vadem diep", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy de Pourtalès)
  • FRE French (Français) (Maurice Bouchor)
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (David Paley) , "Voll Faden fünf", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Tuo padre giace a una profondità di cinque tese", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Andrea Maffei) , no title, first published 1869
  • NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Arild Bakke) , "På fem favner", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SWE Swedish (Svenska) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist)

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

3. Where the bee sucks
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
  Where the bee sucks there suck I:
  In a cow-slip's bell I lie;
  There I couch when owls do cry.
  On a bat's back I do fly
  After summer merrily,
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Total word count: 151