Texts by J. Masefield set in Art Songs and Choral Works
Text Collections:
- A Mainsail Haul
- Ballads
- Ballads and Poems
- Enslaved and Other Poems
- Good Friday and Other Poems
- Lollingdon Downs and Other Poems
- Philip the King, and Other Poems
- Poems
- Salt Water Ballads
- Salt-Water Poems and Ballads
- The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts
- The Tragedy of Pompey the Great
- The Widow in the Bye Street
Texts set in art song or choral works (not necessarily comprehensive):
Legend:
The symbol [x] indicates a placeholder for a text that is not yet in the database.
A * indicates that a text cannot (yet?) be displayed on this site because of its copyright status.
Special notes: All titles and first lines are included in this index, including those used by composers.
Titles used by the text author appear in boldface. First lines appear in italics.
A language code in a blue rectangle like ENG indicates that a translation to that language is available.
A grey rectangle like FRE indicates a particular translation (usually one set to music) exists but isn't yet available.
- A Ballad of Cape St. Vincent (Now, Bill, ain't it prime to be a-sailin') (from Salt Water Ballads) - H. Löhr
- A Christmas carol (A wind is rustling "south and soft,") (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Davidson
- A Cry to Music (Speak to us, Music, for the discord jars) (from Poems)
- A land of shadows (Silent are the woods, and the dim green boughs are) (from Salt Water Ballads) - R. Redman
- A Last Prayer (When the last sea is sailed and the last shallow charted) (from Salt Water Ballads)
- All the merry kettle-drums are thudding into rhyme (from Salt Water Ballads) - H. Gardiner, V. Hickey, S. Lewis, P. Turnbull (Cavalier)
- All the sheets are clacking, all the blocks are whining (from Ballads and Poems) - V. Hickey (Third Mate)
- An’ Bill can have my sea-boots, Nigger Jim can have my knife - P. Corder
- And he came by her cabin to the west of the road, calling (from A Mainsail Haul) - R. Clarke (The Seal Man)
- A night at Dago Tom's (Oh yesterday, I t'ink it was, while cruisin' down the street) (from Salt Water Ballads) - S. Lewis
- An old song re-sung (I saw a ship a-sailing, a-sailing, a-sailing) (from Ballads and Poems) - T. Dobson, H. Gardiner, C. Griffes, F. Martin
- A pier-head chorus (Oh I'll be chewing salted horse and biting flinty bread) (from Salt Water Ballads)
- A prayer for king and country (O God, whose mercy led us through) - W. Davies
- A sailor's prayer (When the last sea is sailed and the last shallow charted) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Keel
- August 1914 (How still this quiet cornfield is to-night!) (from Philip the King, and Other Poems)
- August (How still this quiet cornfield is to-night!) (from Philip the King, and Other Poems) - R. Still
- A valediction (We're bound for blue water where the great winds blow) (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Barnes
- A wanderer's song (A wind's in the heart of me, a fire's in my heels) (from Salt Water Ballads) - T. Hewitt-Jones, J. Keel, O. Rasbach
- A wind is brushing down the clover - I. Venables
- A wind is rustling "south and soft," (from Salt Water Ballads) - F. Ayres, R. Cundick, M. Davidson (Christmas Eve at Sea)
- A wind's in the heart of me, a fire's in my heels (from Salt Water Ballads) - T. Hewitt-Jones, J. Keel, O. Rasbach (A wind's in the heart of me)
- A wind's in the heart of me (A wind's in the heart of me, a fire's in my heels) (from Salt Water Ballads)
- Beauty (I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills) (from Ballads and Poems) - E. Barratt, E. Bartley, C. Cope, M. Davidson, N. Gilbert, R. Hageman, M. Herbert, S. Lewis, H. Löhr, F. Martin, B. Posaminick
- Be good to me, o Lord (When the last sea is sailed and the last shallow charted) (from Salt Water Ballads) - G. Gibbs
- British Eighth March (When the cruel war is done) - Z. Elliott [x]
- By a Bier-Side (This is a sacred city, built of marvellous earth) (from The Tragedy of Pompey the Great) - C. Gibbs, I. Gurney
- Cape Horn Gospel (I was in a hooker once," said Karlssen) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Boyd, J. Keel, S. Lewis
- Captain Stratton's Fancy (Oh, some are fond of red wine and some are fond of white) (from Ballads and Poems) - G. Bachlund, I. Gurney, J. Raynor, D. Taylor, P. Warlock
- Captain Stratton’s Fancy (Oh, some are fond of Spanish wine and some are fond of French) (from Ballads and Poems) - P. Corder
- Cargoes (Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir) (from Ballads and Poems) - S. Burkinshaw, R. Clarke, T. Dobson, W. Grant, S. Lewis, F. Martin, M. Shaw, P. Tomblings
- Cavalier (All the merry kettle-drums are thudding into rhyme) (from Salt Water Ballads) - H. Gardiner, V. Hickey, S. Lewis, P. Turnbull
- Choral: Laugh and be merry (Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song) (from Ballads) - J. Holbrooke
- Christmas, 1903 (O, the sea breeze will be steady, and the tall ship's going trim)
- Christmas Eve at Sea (A wind is rustling "south and soft,") (from Salt Water Ballads) - F. Ayres, R. Cundick
- Dartmouth concerto (Once in a hundred years the Lemmings come) (from Enslaved and Other Poems) - Z. Durkó
- D'Avalos Prayer (When the last sea is sailed and the last shallow charted) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Raynor
- Down Bye Street, in a little Shropshire town (from The Widow in the Bye Street) - S. Homer
- Down Bye Street (Down Bye Street, in a little Shropshire town) (from The Widow in the Bye Street) - S. Homer
- Down to the sea (I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky) (from Salt Water Ballads) - E. Gest
- Dunno a heap about the what an' why (from Salt Water Ballads) - R. Clarke, J. Ireland (Vagabond)
- Friends and loves we have none, nor wealth nor blessed abode (from Ballads) - G. Dyson, G. Slater (The seekers)
- From '41 to '51 (The Everlasting Mercy) - S. Homer
- from 'August 1914' (How still this quiet cornfield is to-night!) (from Philip the King, and Other Poems) - G. Finzi
- Going by Daly's shanty I heard the boys within (from Ballads) - R. Boughton, P. Corder, H. Fothergill, L. Russell, F. Scott, B. Smith (The emigrant)
- Going westward (Going by Daly's shanty I heard the boys within) (from Ballads) - F. Scott
- Gyászének () - Z. Kodály [x]
- Hell's pavement (When I'm discharged at Liverpool an' draws my bit o' pay) - P. Corder
- Hell's pavement (When I'm discharged at Liverpool 'n' draws my bit o' pay) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Keel
- Here the legion halted, here the ranks were broken (from Lollingdon Downs and Other Poems) - I. Gurney
- How still this quiet cornfield is to-night! (from Philip the King, and Other Poems) - G. Finzi, R. Still (August 1914)
- I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills (from Ballads and Poems) - E. Barratt, E. Bartley, C. Cope, M. Davidson, N. Gilbert, R. Hageman, M. Herbert, A. Kramer, S. Lewis, H. Löhr, F. Martin, B. Posaminick, E. Warren (Beauty)
- I have seen dawn (I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills) (from Ballads and Poems) - A. Kramer, E. Warren
- I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Andrews, C. Ball, M. Barnes, C. Bratt, F. Bullock, R. Clarke, D. Crawford, J. Densmore, J. Enos, R. Faith, E. Gest, J. Ireland, J. Loud, R. Mitchell, J. Rico, T. Ritchie, J. Rogers, W. Sabin, Scull, B. Treharne (Sea-Fever)
- I must go down to the seas again (I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky) (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Barnes, J. Densmore, R. Mitchell
- In the harbour, in the island, in the Spanish seas (from Salt Water Ballads) SPA - J. Keel, S. Lewis, H. Procter-Gregg, J. Raynor, T. Ritchie (Trade Winds)
- Invocation to Music (Speak to us, Music, for the discord jars) (from Poems) - D. Diamond
- I saw a ship a-sailing, a-sailing, a-sailing (from Ballads and Poems) - T. Dobson, H. Gardiner, R. Greaves, C. Griffes, F. Martin, R. Pennicuick (An old song re-sung)
- I saw a ship a-sailing (I saw a ship a-sailing, a-sailing, a-sailing) (from Ballads and Poems) - R. Pennicuick
- I saw a star tonight () - C. Fordham [x]
- It is good to be out on the road, and going one knows not where (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Brown, B. Burrows, C. Hand, M. Head, M. Herbert, E. Thiman, S. Wilson (Tewkesbury Road)
- It's a sunny pleasant anchorage is Kingdom Come (from Salt Water Ballads) (Port of many ships) -
- It's a sunny pleasant anchorage, is Kingdom Come - J. Keel
- It's a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries (from Salt Water Ballads) - C. Alison-Crompton, W. Cooper, R. Cundick, R. Mitchell, H. Procter-Gregg, R. Redman, C. Rootham, D. Stewart (The west wind)
- It's pleasant in Holy Mary (from Ballads) - J. Ireland, F. Jackson, F. Martin, J. Raynor, H. Roberton, H. Sykes (St. Mary's Bells)
- I was in a hooker once," said Karlssen (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Boyd, J. Keel, S. Lewis (Cape Horn Gospel)
- I will go look for Death, for Death is everywhere (from The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts) HUN - R. Greaves, Z. Kodály
- I will go look for death (I will go look for Death, for Death is everywhere) (from The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts) - R. Greaves, Z. Kodály HUN
- June twilight (The twilight comes) (from Ballads and Poems) - R. Agnew, R. Clarke, F. Martin, J. Raynor, P. Wishart
- Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song (from Ballads) - R. Boughton, T. Griffiths, J. Holbrooke, J. Raynor, I. Venables (Laugh and be merry)
- Laugh and be merry (Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song) (from Ballads) - R. Boughton, T. Griffiths, J. Raynor
- Lauugh and be merry (Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song) (from Ballads) - I. Venables
- Let that which is to come be as it may (from Good Friday and Other Poems) - S. Pimsleur
- Let that which is to come (Let that which is to come be as it may) (from Good Friday and Other Poems) - S. Pimsleur
- London Town (Oh London Town's a fine town, and London sights are rare) (from Ballads and Poems) - C. Ashbee, J. Ashbee, R. Clarke, E. German, M. Shaw
- Man is a sacred city, built of marvellous earth (from The Tragedy of Pompey the Great) - W. Whittaker
- Mother Carey? She's the mother o' the witches (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Barnes, J. Keel (Mother Carey)
- Mother Carey (Mother Carey? She's the mother o' the witches) (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Barnes, J. Keel
- Music 1939-40 (Speak to us, Music, for the discord jars) (from Poems)
- My friend, my bonny friend, when we are old - J. Raynor (The Word)
- News from Whydah (Oh did you come by Whydah Roads) (from Ballads) - H. Gardiner [x]
- Noon erthely paleys wrouhte in so statly wyse - S. Homer (The Everlasting Mercy)
- Now, Bill, ain't it prime to be a-sailing' (from Salt Water Ballads) (A Ballad of Cape St. Vincent) - H. Löhr
- Now, Bill, ain't it prime to be a-sailin' (from Salt Water Ballads) - H. Löhr (A Ballad of Cape St. Vincent)
- Ode to the Red Army (Though flanks were turned and center gone/ You stood for home and struggled on) [x]
- O God, whose mercy led us through - W. Davies (A Prayer for King and Country)
- Oh did you come by Whydah Roads (from Ballads) [x] - H. Gardiner (News from Whydah)
- Oh I'll be chewing salted horse and biting flinty bread (from Salt Water Ballads) - T. Wood (A pier-head chorus)
- Oh London Town's a fine town, and London sights are rare (from Ballads and Poems) - C. Ashbee, J. Ashbee, R. Clarke, E. German, M. Shaw (London Town)
- Oh, some are fond of red wine and some are fond of white (from Ballads and Poems) - G. Bachlund, E. Bristol, I. Gurney, J. Raynor, D. Taylor, P. Warlock (Captain Stratton's Fancy)
- Oh, some are fond of Spanish wine and some are fond of French (from Ballads and Poems) - P. Corder (Captain Stratton's Fancy)
- Oh yesterday, I t'ink it was, while cruisin' down the street (from Salt Water Ballads) - S. Lewis (A night at Dago Tom's)
- Oh yesterday the cutting edge drank thirstily and deep (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Keel, J. Raynor (To-Morrow)
- Once in a hundred years the Lemmings come (from Enslaved and Other Poems) - Z. Durkó, J. Raynor (The Lemmings)
- Once, very long ago (Once, very long ago) (from The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts) - R. Greaves
- Once, very long ago (from The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts) - R. Greaves
- On Eastnor Knoll (Silent are the woods, and the dim green boughs are) (from Salt Water Ballads) - I. Gurney, J. Keel, J. Raynor, I. Venables, B. Vercoe
- One road leads to London (from Ballads and Poems) - J. Densmore, D. Edeson, H. Finch, H. Gardiner, V. Hickey, G. Holst, S. Lewis, H. Löhr, M. Mulliner, W. Pasfield, E. Rose, L. Thorp (Roadways)
- On Malvern Hill (A wind is brushing down the clover) - I. Venables
- On the downs (Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover) - I. Gurney
- O, the sea breeze will be steady, and the tall ship's going trim - J. Raynor (Christmas, 1903)
- Out beyond the sunset, could I but find the way (from Salt Water Ballads) - R. Clarke, I. Copley, J. Raynor, T. Wood (The Golden City of St. Mary)
- Pier head chorus (Oh I'll be chewing salted horse and biting flinty bread) (from Salt Water Ballads) - T. Wood
- Port of Holy Peter (The blue laguna rocks and quivers) (from Ballads and Poems) - T. Hewitt-Jones
- Port of many ships (It's a sunny pleasant anchorage, is Kingdom Come) - J. Keel
- Port of many ships (It's a sunny pleasant anchorage is Kingdom Come) (from Salt Water Ballads)
- Queen Alexandra's Memorial Ode (So many true princesses who have gone) - E. Elgar
- Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir (from Ballads and Poems) - S. Burkinshaw, R. Clarke, T. Dobson, W. Grant, S. Lewis, F. Martin, M. Shaw, P. Tomblings (Cargoes)
- Rest her soul, she's dead (She has done with the sea's sorrow and all the world's way) (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Barnes
- Roadways (One road leads to London) (from Ballads and Poems) - J. Densmore, D. Edeson, H. Finch, H. Gardiner, V. Hickey, G. Holst, S. Lewis, H. Löhr, M. Mulliner, W. Pasfield, E. Rose, L. Thorp
- Salcombe (O, the sea breeze will be steady, and the tall ship's going trim) - J. Raynor
- Sea-Fever (I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky) (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Andrews, C. Ball, C. Bratt, F. Bullock, R. Clarke, D. Crawford, J. Enos, R. Faith, J. Ireland, J. Loud, J. Rico, T. Ritchie, J. Rogers, W. Sabin, Scull, B. Treharne
- She has done with the sea's sorrow and all the world's way (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Barnes (Rest her soul, she's dead)
- Silent are the woods, and the dim green boughs are (from Salt Water Ballads) - I. Gurney, J. Keel, J. Raynor, R. Redman, I. Venables, B. Vercoe (On Eastnor Knoll)
- So beautiful, so dainty-sweet (from Ballads) - A. Shepherd, F. Swain (The gentle lady)
- So many true princesses who have gone - E. Elgar (So many true Princesses who have gone)
- Song of Ronin (We lay on the reeds) (from The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts) - R. Greaves
- Song of the Fifth Ronin (We lay on the reeds) (from The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts)
- Sorrow of Mydath (Weary the cry of the wind is, weary the sea) - J. Raynor
- Sorrow o' Mydath (Weary the cry of the wind is, weary the sea) (from Salt Water Ballads) - C. Alison-Crompton, M. Davidson, C. Griffes, P. Miles, R. Ward
- Speak to us, Music, for the discord jars (from Poems) - D. Diamond (A Cry to Music)
- Speak to us, Music, for the discord jars (from Poems) (Music 1939-40) - D. Diamond
- Staggering over the running combers (from Salt Water Ballads) - L. Walters (The Galley-Rowers)
- St. Mary's Bells (It's pleasant in Holy Mary) (from Ballads) - F. Jackson, F. Martin, J. Raynor, H. Roberton, H. Sykes
- Tewkesbury Road (It is good to be out on the road, and going one knows not where) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Brown, B. Burrows, C. Hand, M. Head, M. Herbert, E. Thiman, S. Wilson
- The Ballad Of Sir Bors (Would I could win some quiet and rest, and a little ease) - J. Raynor
- The bells of San Marie (It's pleasant in Holy Mary) (from Ballads) - J. Ireland
- The blue laguna rocks and quivers (from Ballads and Poems) - T. Hewitt-Jones (Port of Holy Peter)
- The chief centurion (Man is a sacred city, built of marvellous earth) (from The Tragedy of Pompey the Great) - W. Whittaker
- The emigrant (Going by Daly's shanty I heard the boys within) (from Ballads) - R. Boughton, P. Corder, H. Fothergill, L. Russell, B. Smith
- The Everlasting Mercy (Noon erthely paleys wrouhte in so statly wyse) - S. Homer
- The Galley-Rowers (Staggering over the running combers) (from Salt Water Ballads) - L. Walters
- The gentle lady (So beautiful, so dainty-sweet) (from Ballads) - A. Shepherd, F. Swain
- The Golden City of St. Mary (Out beyond the sunset, could I but find the way) (from Salt Water Ballads) - R. Clarke, I. Copley, J. Raynor, T. Wood
- The halt of the legion (Here the legion halted, here the ranks were broken) (from Lollingdon Downs and Other Poems) - I. Gurney
- The Lemmings (Once in a hundred years the Lemmings come) (from Enslaved and Other Poems) - J. Raynor
- The New Bedford Whaler (There was a 'Bedford Whaler put out to hunt for oil) (from Salt-Water Poems and Ballads) - T. Ritchie
- Theodore, or The Pirate King (They sacked the ships of London town) - G. Berners
- Theodore (They sacked the ships of London town)
- The old, bold mate (Oh, some are fond of red wine and some are fond of white) (from Ballads and Poems) - E. Bristol
- There’s a sea-way somewhere where all day long (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Raynor
- There's A Sea-Way (There’s a sea-way somewhere where all day long) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Raynor
- There was a 'Bedford Whaler put out to hunt for oil (from Salt-Water Poems and Ballads) - T. Ritchie (The New Bedford Whaler)
- The Seal Man (And he came by her cabin to the west of the road, calling) (from A Mainsail Haul) - R. Clarke
- The seekers (Friends and loves we have none, nor wealth nor blessed abode) (from Ballads) - G. Dyson, G. Slater
- The turn of the tide (An’ Bill can have my sea-boots, Nigger Jim can have my knife) - P. Corder
- The twilight comes (from Ballads and Poems) - R. Agnew, R. Clarke, F. Martin, J. Raynor, P. Wishart (June twilight)
- The Wayfarer () - F. Allitsen [x]
- The west wind (It's a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries) (from Salt Water Ballads) - C. Alison-Crompton, W. Cooper, R. Cundick, H. Procter-Gregg, R. Redman, C. Rootham, D. Stewart
- The white road westward (It's a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries) (from Salt Water Ballads) - R. Mitchell
- The Widow's Prayer () (from The Widow in the Bye Street) - S. Homer [x]
- The Widow's Song () (from The Widow in the Bye Street) - S. Homer [x]
- The wild duck (Twilight. Red in the West) (from Ballads and Poems) - C. Forsyth
- The Word (My friend, my bonny friend, when we are old) - J. Raynor
- They sacked the ships of London town - G. Berners (Theodore)
- Third Mate (All the sheets are clacking, all the blocks are whining) (from Ballads and Poems) - V. Hickey
- This is a sacred city, built of marvellous earth (from The Tragedy of Pompey the Great) - C. Gibbs, I. Gurney
- Though flanks were turned and center gone/ You stood for home and struggled on [x] - A. Bax (Ode to the Red Army)
- To-Morrow (Oh yesterday the cutting edge drank thirstily and deep) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Keel, J. Raynor
- To Russia (Though flanks were turned and center gone/ You stood for home and struggled on) - A. Bax [x]
- Trade Winds (In the harbour, in the island, in the Spanish seas) (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Keel, S. Lewis, H. Procter-Gregg, J. Raynor, T. Ritchie SPA
- Twilight it is, and the far woods are dim, and the rooks cry and call (from Ballads and Poems) - C. Alison-Crompton, P. Crossley-Holland, T. Dobson, J. Keel, A. Marples, E. Moeran, D. Moule-Evans, J. Raynor (Twilight)
- Twilight it is (Twilight it is, and the far woods are dim, and the rooks cry and call) (from Ballads and Poems) - P. Crossley-Holland
- Twilight. Red in the West (from Ballads and Poems) - C. Forsyth (The wild duck)
- Twilight (Twilight it is, and the far woods are dim, and the rooks cry and call) (from Ballads and Poems) - C. Alison-Crompton, T. Dobson, J. Keel, A. Marples, E. Moeran, D. Moule-Evans, J. Raynor
- Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover - I. Gurney
- Vagabond (Dunno a heap about the what an' why) (from Salt Water Ballads) - R. Clarke, J. Ireland
- Weary the cry of the wind is, weary the sea - J. Raynor (Sorrow of Mydath)
- Weary the cry of the wind is, weary the sea (from Salt Water Ballads) - C. Alison-Crompton, M. Davidson, C. Griffes, P. Miles, R. Ward (Sorrow o' Mydath)
- We lay on the reeds (from The Faithful: A Tragedy in Three Acts) - R. Greaves (Song of the Fifth Ronin)
- We're bound for blue water where the great winds blow (from Salt Water Ballads) - M. Barnes (A valediction)
- When I'm discharged at Liverpool an' draws my bit o' pay - P. Corder
- When I'm discharged at Liverpool 'n' draws my bit o' pay (from Salt Water Ballads) - J. Keel (Hell's pavement)
- When the cruel war is done [x] - Z. Elliott
- When the last sea is sailed and the last shallow charted (from Salt Water Ballads) (A Last Prayer) - C. Forsyth, G. Gibbs, J. Keel, J. Raynor
- When the last sea is sailed and the last shallow charted (from Salt Water Ballads) - C. Forsyth, G. Gibbs, J. Keel, J. Raynor (D'Avalos' Prayer)
- When the last sea is sailed (When the last sea is sailed and the last shallow charted) (from Salt Water Ballads) - C. Forsyth
- Would I could win some quiet and rest, and a little ease - J. Raynor (The Ballad Of Sir Bors)
- Yellow wine (I saw a ship a-sailing, a-sailing, a-sailing) (from Ballads and Poems) - R. Greaves
Last update: 2023-04-19 17:56:38