The Head of the Bed

Song Cycle by Milton Byron Babbitt (1916 - 2011)

For Robert Penn Warren

At the mountainous border of our two countries there is a village; it
stands just below a pass, but some of the older houses lie higher up
along the road, overlooking more of the valley than one might think.
The border has never been heavily guarded, and our countries are
peaceful. Theirs lies beyond the pass; in the other valley a large
village looks up toward the mountains and toward us. The border itself
is marked only by an occasional sign; but then there is the
Trumpeter. His clear, triadic melodies break out through the frosty
air, or through the swirling mists. From below, from above, the sound
is commandingly clear, and it seems to divide the air as the border
divides the land. It can be heard at no fixed intervals, and yet with
a regularity which we accept, but cannot calculate. No one knows
whether the Trumpeter is theirs or ours.

1. Heard through lids slammed down over darkened glass[sung text checked 1 time]

Heard through lids slammed down over darkened glass
 [ ... ]

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2. Where, where, where? Where is here? Where is Herr Haar[sung text checked 1 time]

Where, where, where? Where is here? Where is Herr Haar
 [ ... ]

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3. Floor lamps and their shadows warmed the room where[sung text checked 1 time]

Floor lamps and their shadows warmed the room where
 [ ... ]

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4. Slanting lean, gray rain washing the palace[sung text checked 1 time]

Slanting lean, gray rain washing the palace
 [ ... ]

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5. Coarse breath fanning the closed air by his ear[sung text checked 1 time]

Coarse breath fanning the closed air by his ear
 [ ... ]

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6. He felt his hand feeling another hand[sung text checked 1 time]

He felt his hand feeling another hand
 [ ... ]

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7. Down the shaded street, toward an avenue[sung text checked 1 time]

Down the shaded street, toward an avenue
 [ ... ]

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8. The Hyperboreans gathered him up[sung text checked 1 time]

The Hyperboreans gathered him up
 [ ... ]

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9. Leaving that unfair, seasonless land was[sung text checked 1 time]

Leaving that unfair, seasonless land was
 [ ... ]

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10. Beyond the cold, blue mountain and beyond[sung text checked 1 time]

Beyond the cold, blue mountain and beyond
 [ ... ]

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11. Half his days he had passed in the shadow[sung text checked 1 time]

Half his days he had passed in the shadow
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12. When, as if late some night of festival[sung text checked 1 time]

When, as if late some night of festival
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13. He awoke. Low in the sky in August[sung text checked 1 time]

He awoke. Low in the sky in August
 [ ... ]

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14. Grayish flakes like clay are falling as if[sung text checked 1 time]

Grayish flakes like clay are falling as if
 [ ... ]

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15. The bright moon offends him: he plucks it out[sung text checked 1 time]

The bright moon offends him: he plucks it out
 [ ... ]

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Total word count: 1640