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by William Soutar (1898 - 1943)

The children
 (Sung text for setting by J. MacMillan)
 See original
Language: English 
Upon the street they lie
Beside the broken stone:
The blood of children stares from the broken stone.

Death came out of the sky
In the bright afternoon:
Darkness slanted over the bright afternoon.

Again the sky is clear
But upon earth a stain:
The earth is darkened with a darkening stain:

A wound which everywhere 
Corrupts the hearts of men:
The blood of children corrupts the hearts of men.

Silence is in the air:
The stars move to their places:
Silent and serene the stars move to their places:

 ... 

Composition:

    Set to music by James MacMillan (b. 1959), "The children", 1995, first performed 1995, stanzas 1-5 [ voice and piano ], from Three Scottish Songs, no. 3

Text Authorship:

  • by William Soutar (1898 - 1943), "The children", written 1937

See other settings of this text.


Research team for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor] , Mike Pearson

This text was added to the website: 2015-03-10
Line count: 18
Word count: 109

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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