Solemnly, mournfully, Dealing its dole, The Curfew Bell Is beginning to toll. Cover the embers, [And put]1 out the light; Toil comes with the morning, And rest with the night. Dark grow the windows, And quenched is the fire; Sound fades into silence,-- All footsteps retire. No voice in the [chambers]2, No sound in the hall! Sleep and oblivion Reign over all! The book is completed, And closed, like the day; And the hand that has written it Lays it away. Dim grow its fancies; Forgotten they lie; Like coals in the ashes, They darken and die. Song sinks into silence, The story is told, The windows are darkened, The hearth-stone is cold. Darker and darker The black shadows fall; Sleep and oblivion Reign over all.
Two-Part Songs
Song Cycle by Francesco Berger (1834 - 1933)
?. Curfew  [sung text not yet checked]
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Curfew", appears in The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems, first published 1845
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View original text (without footnotes)1 Stöhr: "Put"
2 Stöhr: "chamber"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
?. The rainy day  [sung text not yet checked]
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary ; It rains and the wind is never weary; The vine still clings to the mouldr'ng wall, But at every gust the dead leaves fall, And the day is [dark]1 and dreary. My life is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains and the wind is never weary; My thoughts still cling to the mould'ring Past, But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast, And the days are [dark]1 and dreary. Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The rainy day", appears in Ballads and Other Poems, first published 1842
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Ernst Eckstein) , "Der Regentag", subtitle: "(Nach dem Englischen von H.W. Longfellow.)", appears in In Moll und Dur, in 3. Dritte Abtheilung
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ferdinand Höfer) , "Der Regentag"
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Confirmed with Popular Poetry: a selection of pieces old and new, adapted for general use, London, Burns & Lambert, 1862, page 119.
1 Ascham: "cold"Research team for this page: Barbara Miller , Johann Winkler
?. Daylight and moonlight  [sung text not yet checked]
In broad daylight, and at noon, Yesterday I saw the moon Sailing high, but faint and white, As a school-boy's paper kite. In broad daylight, yesterday, I read a Poet's mystic lay; And it seemed to me at most As a phantom, or a ghost. But at length the feverish day Like a passion died away, And the night, serene and still, Fell on village, vale, and hill. Then the moon, in all her pride, Like a spirit glorified, Filled and overflowed the night With revelations of her light. And the Poet's song again Passed like music through my brain; Night interpreted to me All its grace and mystery.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Daylight and moonlight", appears in Birds of Passage, first published 1858
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]?. Gentle spring  [sung text not yet checked]
Gentle Spring! in sunshine clad, Well dost thou thy power display! For Winter maketh the light heart sad, And thou, thou makest the sad heart gay. He sees thee, and calls to his gloomy train, The sleet, and the snow, and the wind, and the rain; And they shrink away, and they flee in fear, When thy merry step draws near. Winter giveth the fields and the trees, so old, Their beards of icicles and snow; And the rain, it raineth so fast and cold, We must cower over the embers low; And, snugly housed from the wind and weather, Mope like birds that are changing feather. But the storm retires, and the sky grows clear, When thy merry step draws near. Winter maketh the sun in the gloomy sky Wrap him round with a mantle of cloud; But, Heaven be praised, thy step is nigh; Thou tearest away the mournful shroud, And the earth looks bright, and Winter surly, Who has toiled for naught both late and early, Is banished afar by the new-born year, When thy merry step draws near.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Spring", appears in Voices of the Night, first published 1839
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles, Duc d'Orléans (1394 - 1465), "Bien moustrez, Printemps gracieux"
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]?. Daybreak  [sung text not yet checked]
A wind came up out of the sea, And said, "O mists, make room for me." It hailed the ships and cried, "Sail on, Ye mariners, the night is gone." And hurried landward far away, Crying "Awake! it is the day." It said unto the forest, "Shout! Hang all your leafy banners out!" It touched the wood-bird's folded wing, And said, "O bird, awake and sing." And o'er the farms, "O chanticleer, Your clarion blow; the day is near." It whispered to the fields of corn, "Bow down, and hail the coming morn." It shouted through the belfry-tower, "Awake, O bell! proclaim the hour." It crossed the churchyard with a sigh, And said, "Not yet! In quiet lie."
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Daybreak", appears in The Courtship of Miles Standish, and Other Poems, first published 1858
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ernst Eckstein) , "Tagesanbruch", subtitle: "(Nach dem Englischen von H.W. Longfellow.)", appears in In Moll und Dur, in 3. Dritte Abtheilung [an adaptation]
?. A spring song  [sung text not yet checked]
Now Time throws off his cloak again Of ermined frost, and wind, and rain, And clothes him in the embroidery Of glittering sun and clear blue sky. With beast and bird the forest rings, Each in his jargon cries or sings; And Time throws off his cloak again. Of ermined frost, and wind, and rain. River, and fount, and tinkling brook Wear in their dainty livery Drops of silver jewelry; In new-made suit they merry look; And Time throws off his cloak again Of ermined frost, and wind, and rain.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The return of Spring", appears in The Poets and Poems of Europe, first published 1845 [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles, Duc d'Orléans (1394 - 1465), "Rondel LXIII"
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]?. A psalm of life  [sung text not yet checked]
Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,--act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o'erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "A psalm of life", appears in Voices of the Night, first published 1839
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ernst Eckstein) , "Ein Lebens-Psalm", subtitle: "(Nach dem Englischen von H.W. Longfellow.)", appears in In Moll und Dur, in 3. Dritte Abtheilung
?. Stay at home  [sung text not yet checked]
Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest; Home-keeping hearts are happiest, For those that wander they know not where Are full of trouble and full of care; To stay at home is best. Weary and homesick and distressed, They wander east, they wander west, And are baffled and beaten and blown about By the winds of the wilderness of doubt; To stay at home is best. Then stay at home, my heart, and rest; The bird is safest in its nest; O'er all that flutter their wings and fly A hawk is hovering in the sky; To stay at home is best.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Song", appears in Kéramos and Other Poems, first published 1878
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]