Songs of Separation

Song Cycle by William Grant Still (1895 - 1978)

1. Idolatry  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
You have been good to me, I give you this
 [ ... ]

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

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. Poème
 (Sung text)

Language: French (Français) 
Ce n’était pas l’aurore
 [ ... ]

Text Authorship:

Go to the general single-text view

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

  • ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Poem", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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. Parted  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
She wrapped her soul in a lace of lies,
  With a prime deceit to pin it;
And I thought I was gaining a fearsome prize,
  So I staked my soul to win it.

We wed and parted on her complaint,
  And both were a bit of barter,
Tho' I'll confess that I'm no saint,
  I'll swear that she's no martyr.

Text Authorship:

  • by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "Parted", from Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow, first published 1905

Go to the general single-text view

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

4. If you should go
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Love, leave me like the light,
The gently passing day;
We would not know, but for the night,
When it has slipped away.

 ... 

Go quietly; a dream,
When done, should leave no trace
That it has lived, except a gleam
Across the dreamer’s face.

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

5. A black pierrot  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
I am a black pierrot:
        She did not love me,
        So I crept into the night
        And the night was black, too.
I am a black pierrot:
        She did not love me,
        So I wept until the red dawn
        Dripped blood over the eastern hills
        And my heart was bleeding, too
I am a black pierrot:
        She did not love me,
        So with my once gay-colored soul
        Shrunken like a balloon without air,
        I went forth in the morning
        To seek a new brown love.

Text Authorship:

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.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Total word count: 297