Serenata

by Scott Wheeler (b. 1952)

1. If I had a wife
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
If I had a wife
I would love her as kings
Loved queens in the old days, or as princes
Maidens,
Met in the dew, by a stile, of a morning—
“How do you do, my pretty?”
And all of that.
If I had a wife
I would come home sometimes
Dressed like a stranger, and when she stared,
“Lady,”
I’d say, and woo her in wonder—
“How can there be such shining?”
And all of that.
If I had a wife
I would never be done
With remembering how it is now when, oh,
I am lonesome,
And no one is here but my dog and my cat—
“Well, old boys! Hungry?”
And all of that.

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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.

Researcher for this page: Eric Saroian

2. Her hand in my hand
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Her hand in my hand,
Soft as the south wind,
Soft as a colt’s nose,
Soft as forgetting;
Her cheek to my cheek,
Red as the cranberry,
Red as a mitten,
Red as remembering—
Here we go round like raindrops,
Raindrops,
Here we go round
So snug together,
Oh, but I wonder,
Oh, but I know,
Who comforts like raisins,
Who kisses like snow.

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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.

Researcher for this page: Eric Saroian

3. Little Trip
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Let’s go. Let’s be somewhere awhile
We haven’t ever been before;
And strangers cut the random grass
Or leave it ragged. That can pass;
For now the road climbs more and more,
And we are silent mile by mile
Between whose woods? We’ll never know
Unless we stop to read his name.
Up and over, down and on
Around this mountain, blue then brown.
Here is a river, wild or tame
According as the rocks below
Be few or many. Next a house,
And neat or not we like it well,
For someone else does all the chores
Or doesn’t do them. Churches, stores —
There, I heard the crossing bell.
So home by dark to moth and mouse.

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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.

Researcher for this page: Eric Saroian

4. Desire Like This
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
So long had he withheld his hands,
She found him slow to learn:
The way a breast, a thigh, can yield;
The way snow can burn.
You thought me once a goddess, boy,
And so I am, she said;
Desire like this is not of earth:
More, and we both were dead.
Oh, no, he cried; but even then,
Like one brand ablaze,
They broke and fell, and each went out
As stars extinguish days.

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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.

Researcher for this page: Eric Saroian

5. Love me little
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Love me little, love me long,
Then we neither can be wrong:
You in giving, I in taking;
There is not a heart breaking
But remembers one touch,
Or maybe seven, of too much.
Love me more than halfway, though.
Let me think, then let me know.
And I promise you the same:
A little wild, a little tame;
Lest it ever seem long:
Tick, tock, ding, dong.

Text Authorship:

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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.

Researcher for this page: Eric Saroian
Total word count: 443