by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
I will be the gladdest thing
Language: English
I will be the gladdest thing Under the sun, I will touch a hundred flowers And not pick one. I will look at cliffs and clouds With quiet eyes, Watch the wind bow down the grass, And the grass rise. And when lights begin to show Up from the town, I will mark which must be mine And then start down.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesText Authorship:
- by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), appears in Renascence and Other Poems, first published 1917 [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 Joel Balzun (b. 1990), "I will be the gladdest thing", 2011 [ vocal duet for tenor and baritone with piano ], from The strong, the strange, and the humble, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Grace Becker , "Afternoon on a hill", published 1934 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Edward) Maurice Besly (1888 - 1945), "Afternoon on a hill", published 1933 [ voice and piano ], from Charivaria [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas B. Briccetti (b. 1936), "Afternoon on a hill" [ SAB chorus and piano ], from Millaydy's Madrigals [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Afternoon on a Hill", 1945 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eric Ewazen (b. 1954), "Afternoon on a Hill", 1990 [ high voice and piano ], from Three Lyrics of Edna St. Vincent Millay, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Farwell (1872 - 1952), "Afternoon on a hill", published 1945 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Lita Grier , "Afternoon on a hill", 1999, from 5 Songs For Children, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Timothy Hoekman , "Afternoon on a hill", 2009, published 2011 [ voice and piano ], from Five Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dexter Morrill (b. 1938), "Afternoon on a hill" [ SSA chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lynn Steele (1951 - 2002), "Afternoon on a hill" [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Seven Songs of Edna St. Vincent Millay, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 62