by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
Passing the visions, passing the night
Language: English
Passing the visions, passing the night; Passing, unloosing the hold of my comrades' hands; Passing the song of the hermit bird and the tallying song of my soul, (Victorious song, death's outlet song, yet varying, ever-altering song, As low and wailing, yet clear the notes, rising and falling, flooding the night, Sadly sinking and fainting, as warning and warning, and yet again bursting with joy, Covering the earth and filling the spread of the heaven, As that powerful psalm in the night I heard from recesses, Passing, I leave thee, lilac with heart-shaped leaves; I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring, I cease from my song for thee; From my gaze on thee in the west, fronting the west, communing with thee, O comrade lustrous, with silver face in the night.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesAuthorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Memories of President Lincoln, in When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, no. 19 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), "Now while I sat in the day, and look'd forth", from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 3, cantata
- by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "Passing the visions, passing the night" [ baritone, mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra ], from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 11
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 13
Word count: 135