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When acorns fall and swallows troop for flight, And hope matured slow mellows to regret, And Autumn, pressed by Winter for his debt, Drops leaf on leaf till she be beggared quite; Should then the crescent moon's unselfish light Gleam up the sky, just as the sun doth set, Her brightening gaze, though day and dark have met, Prolongs the gloaming and retards the night. So, fair young life, new risen upon mine Just as it owns the edict of decay And Fancy's fires should pale and pass away, My menaced glory takes a glow from thine, And, in the deepening sundown of my day, Thou with thy dawn delayest my decline.
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Austin (1835 - 1913), "When acorns fall" [author's text checked 1 time 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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Bertram Kottmann , "Wenn Eicheln fallen", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission ; composed by Gary Bachlund.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-11-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 112
Wenn Eicheln fallen, Schwalben südwärts zieh'n, lange gehegtes Hoffen traurig sinkt, und wenn der Winter Herbstes Schuld erzwingt und Blatt für Blatt ihn treibt in den Ruin - Sollt' dann der Sichelmond ohn' Eigennutz mithin den Himmel schimmern lassen, wenn die Sonn' versinkt? Sein heller Blick, obwohl die Nacht den Tag verschlingt, ihr Einhalt tut und hemmt des Lichtes Flieh'n! So, junge Schönheit, neu in mir erblüht, da doch auch meine Herrlichkeit vergeht und mancher süße Traum verblasst, verweht, nehm' ich von dir, was in dir glüht, auf dass, wenn dann mein Tag im Abend steht dein Morgen mich vor schneller Nacht behüt'.
Text Authorship:
- by Bertram Kottmann , "Wenn Eicheln fallen", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Austin (1835 - 1913), "When acorns fall"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Wenn Eicheln fallen", 2013 [medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-11-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 102