Do not stand 
                [by]1 my grave and weep;
        I am not there.
                I do not sleep.
I am [the]2 thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond [glints]3 [in]4 snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
[As]5 you [awake with morning's]6 hush,
I am the swift [up-flinging]7 rush
Of quiet birds in [circling]8 flight.
I am the [day transcending night]9.
        Do not stand 
                [by]1 my grave and [cry]10;
        I am not there. 
                I [did not die]11.

P. Moravec sets lines 1-12

About the headline (FAQ)

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First published in The Gypsy, 1934.

Note: see the wikipedia article (external website)

¹ Blom, Kuusisto, Moravec: "at"
² Blom, Kuusisto, Moravec: "a"
³ Blom: "glint"
⁴ Blom, Kuusisto, Moravec: "on"
⁵ Blom, Kuusisto, Moravec: "When"
⁶ Blom: "wake in the morning"; Kuusisto, Moravec: "awaken in the morning's"
⁷ Blom, Kuusisto, Moravec: "uplifting"
⁸ Kuusisto, Moravec: "circled"
⁹ Blom: "soft starlight at night" ; Kuusisto: "soft stars that shine at night"; Moravec: "soft star that shines at night"
¹⁰ Blom: "weep"
¹¹ Blom: "do not sleep"

Text Authorship:

• sometimes misattributed to Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905 - 2004)
• by Clare Harner (1909 - 1977), first published 1934 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Diana Blom (b. 1947), "Indian Prayer", 2018 [ tenor and piano ], from Portrait of America, no. 4, Wirripang Publishing [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Rona Clarke (b. 1958), "Do not stand by my grave and weep", 2006/2010, first performed 2010 [ mixed chorus ], Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland
      Publisher: Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]
• by Nana Forte (b. 1981), "Do not stand at my grave and weep", 2016, first performed 2016 [ satb chorus ]
      Publisher: Nana Forte [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ilkka Taneli Kuusisto (b. 1933), "Do not stand at my grave and weep" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Paul Moravec (b. 1957), "In remembrance", lines 1-12, from Vita Brevis, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alison Willis (b. 1971), "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep", 2017 [ soprano and women's chorus ], Composers Edition
      Publisher: Composers Edition [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]

Another version of this text exists in the database.

• Go to the text. [ view differences ] GER
  

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

• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-10-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 98