by William Soutar (1898 - 1943)
The children 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