I know a certain tune that my life plays; Over and over I have heard it start With all the wavering loveliness of violas And gain in swiftness like a runners heart. It climbs and climbs; I watch it sway in climbing High over time, high even over doubt, It has all heaven to itself -- it pauses And faltering blindly down the air, goes out.
The Winds of May
Song Cycle by Kirke Mechem (b. 1925)
1. The tune  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "The tune", appears in Dark of the Moon, in Arcturus in Autumn, first published 1926
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Un air", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Confirmed with Sara Teasdale, Dark of The Moon, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1926, page 84.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
2. Let it be forgotten  [sung text not yet checked]
Let it be forgotten as a flower is forgotten, Forgotten as a fire that once was singing gold. Let it be forgotten forever and ever. Time is a kind friend, he will make us old. If anyone [asks]1, say it was forgotten, Long and long ago. As a flower, as a fire, as a hushed foot-fall In a long forgotten snow.
Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "Let it be forgotten", appears in Flame and Shadow, first published 1920
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Qu'il soit oublié", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
1 Mills: "should ask"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
3. Over the roofs  [sung text not yet checked]
I Oh chimes set high on the sunny tower Ring on, ring on unendingly, Make all the hours a single hour, For when the dusk begins to flower, The man I love will come to me! ... But no, go slowly as you will, I should not bid you hasten so, For while I wait for love to come, Some other girl is standing dumb, Fearing her love will go. II Oh white steam over the roofs, blow high! Oh chimes in the tower ring clear and free! Oh sun awake in the covered sky, For the man I love, loves me I . . . Oh drifting steam disperse and die, Oh tower stand shrouded toward the south, -- Fate heard afar my happy cry, And laid her finger on my mouth. III The dusk was blue with blowing mist, The lights were spangles in a veil, And from the clamor far below Floated faint music like a wail. It voiced what I shall never speak, My heart was breaking all night long, But when the dawn was hard and gray, My tears distilled into a song. IV I said, "I have shut my heart As one shuts an open door, That Love may starve therein And trouble me no more." But over the roofs there came The wet new wind of May, And a tune blew up from the curb Where the street-pianos play. My room was white with the sun And Love cried out in me, "I am strong, I will break your heart Unless you set me free."
Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "Over the roofs", appears in Rivers to the Sea, first published 1915
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]4. I shall not care  [sung text not yet checked]
When I am dead and over me bright April Shakes out her rain-drenched hair, Tho' you should lean above me broken-hearted, I shall not care. I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful When rain bends down the bough, And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted Than you are now.
Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "I shall not care", appears in Rivers to the Sea, first published 1915
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]5. Song  [sung text not yet checked]
Love me with your whole heart Or give no love to me, Half-love is a poor thing, Neither bond nor free. You must love me gladly Soul and body too, Or else find a new love, And good-by to you.
Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "Song", appears in Rivers to the Sea, first published 1915
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]