by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
The Hazel Wood See original
Language: English
I went out to the hazel wood, Because a fire was in my head, And cut and peeled a hazel wand, And hooked a berry to a thread; And when white moths were on the wing, And moth-like stars were flickering out, I dropped the berry in a stream And caught a little silver trout. When I had laid it on the floor I went to blow the fire aflame, But something rustled on the floor, And some one called ... my name: It had become a glimmering girl With apple blossoms in her hair Who called me by my name and ran And faded through the brightening air. Though I am old with wandering Through hollow lands and hilly lands, I will find out where she has gone, And kiss her lips and take her hands; ... And pluck till time and times are done The silver apples of the moon, The golden apples of the sun.
First published in Sketch, August 1897, revised 1899, renamed "Song of Wandering Aengus"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
Composition:
- Set to music by John Edmunds (1913 - 1986), "The Hazel Wood" [ voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "A mad song"
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Das Lied des Wandernden Aengus", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-02
Line count: 24
Word count: 167