by John Keats (1795 - 1821)
The church bells toll a melancholy round
Language: English
The church bells toll a melancholy round, Calling the people to some other prayers, Some other gloominess, more dreadful cares, More hearkening to the sermon's horrid sound. Surely the mind of man is closely bound In some black spell; seeing that each one tears Himself from fireside joys, and Lydian airs, And converse high of those with glory crown'd. Still, still they toll, and I should feel a damp,-- A chill as from a tomb, did I not know That they are dying like an outburnt lamp; That 'tis their sighing, wailing ere they go Into oblivion; -- that fresh flowers will grow, And many glories of immortal stamp.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesAuthorship:
- by John Keats (1795 - 1821) [author's text not yet checked 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 Alistair Hinton (b. 1950), "The church bells toll a melancholy round", op. 13 no. 5d (1969-1977) [ high voice and string quintet ], from String Quintet, no. 5d [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2018-08-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 108