by William Soutar (1898 - 1943)
Who are these children?
Language: English
With easy hands upon the rein, And hounds at their horses feet, The ladies and the gentlemen Ride through the village street. Brightness of blood upon the coats And on the women’s lips: Brightness of silver at the throats And on the hunting whips. Is there a dale more calm, more green Under this morning hour; A scene more alien than this scene Within a world at war? Who are these children gathered here Out of the fire and smoke That with remembering faces stare Upon the foxing folk?
Authorship:
- by William Soutar (1898 - 1943), "Who are these children?", appears in Collected Poems, first published 1948 [author's text not yet checked 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):
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Who are these children?", op. 84 no. 9, published 1972 [tenor and piano], from Who are these children?, no. 9. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson
This text was added to the website: 2015-03-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 89