by Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)

Language: English 
Hanging from the beam,
      Slowly swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on your green,
      Shenandoah!
The cut is on the crown
      (Lo, John Brown),
And the stabs shall heal no more.
Hidden in the cap
      Is the anguish none can draw;
So your future veils its face,
      Shenandoah!
But the streaming beard is shown
      (Weird John Brown),
The meteor of the war.

Composition:

    Set to music by Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961), "The Portent", op. 7 no. 1 (1981) [ bass and piano or orchestra ], from War Songs, no. 1

Text Authorship:

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2022-06-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 63