by Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)

Sobs en route to a Penitentiary
 (Sung text for setting by G. Bachlund)
 Matches original text
Language: English 
Good-by now to the streets and the clash of wheels and locking hubs,
The sun coming on the brass buckles and harness knobs.
The muscles of the horses sliding under their heavy haunches,
Good-by now to the traffic policeman and his whistle,
The smash of the iron hoof on the stones,
All the crazy wonderful slamming roar of the street --
O God, there's noises I'm going to be hungry for.

Composition:

    Set to music by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Sobs en route to a Penitentiary", 2009 [ medium voice and piano ]

Text Authorship:

  • by Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967), "A teamster's farewell", subtitle: "Sobs en route to a Penitentiary", appears in Chicago Poems, first published 1916

See other settings of this text.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-17
Line count: 7
Word count: 70