The autumn leaves Are too heavy with color. The slender trees On the Vulcan Road Are dressed in scarlet and gold Like young courtesans Waiting for their lovers. But soon The winter winds Will strip their bodies bare And then The sharp, sleet-stung Caresses of the cold Will be their only Love.
Epoch of Hughes
Song Cycle by Jasmine Arielle Barnes (b. 1991)
1. Poème d'Automne [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "Poème d'Automone", appears in The Weary Blues, first published 1926
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]2. Winter Moon [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
How thin and sharp is the moon tonight! [ ... ]
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), 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.3. An Earth Song [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
It's an earth song,—
And I've been waiting long for an earth song.
It's a spring song,—
And I've been waiting long for a spring song.
Strong as the shoots of a new plant
Strong as the bursting of new buds
Strong as the coming of the first child from its mother's womb.
It's an earth song,
A body song,
A spring song,
I have been waiting long for this spring song.
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "An Earth Song"
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]4. Summer Night [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
The sounds Of the Harlem night Drop one by one into stillness. The last player-piano is closed. The last victrola ceases with the “Jazz Boy Blues.” The last crying baby sleeps And the night becomes Still as a whispering heartbeat. I toss Without rest in the darkness, Weary as the tired night, My soul Empty as the silence, Empty with a vague, Aching emptiness, Desiring, Needing someone, Something. I toss without rest In the darkness Until the new dawn, Wan and pale, Descends like a white mist Into the court-yard.
Text Authorship:
- by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), appears in The Weary Blues, copyright status unknown
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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]Total word count: 238