by Alun Lewis (1915 - 1944)
The dancer
Language: English
"He's in his grave and on his head I dance," the lovely dancer said, "My feet like fireflies illume The choking blackness of his tomb." "Had he not died we would have wed, And still I'd dance," the dancer said, "To keep the creeping sterile doom Out of the darkness of my womb." "Our love was always ringed with dread Of death," the lovely dancer said, "And so I danced for his delight And scorched the blackened core of night With passion bright," the dancer said - "And now I dance to earn my bread."
Text Authorship:
- by Alun Lewis (1915 - 1944) [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 Michael Tippett (1905 - 1998), "The dancer", 1950-1951, published 1951 [ high voice and piano ], from The Heart's Assurance, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 94