The Arrow and the Song | I shot an Arrow into the air

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

I shot an Arrow into the air

Language: English

I shot an Arrow into the air
It fell to earth I [knew]¹ not where,
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breath'd a Song into the air
It fell to earth, I [knew]¹ not where.
For who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of a song?

Long, long afterward in an oak
I found the Arrow still unbroke;
And the Song from begining to end
I found again in the heart of a friend.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Balfe, Emery: "know"

Note: parodied in the anonymous poem I stuck a pin into a chair.

Authorship:

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The Arrow and the Song", appears in The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems, first published 1846 [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):

by Jan van Amerongen (b. 1938), "The arrow and the song", from Thompson-liederen, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Michael William Balfe (1808 - 1870), "The Arrow and the Song" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Joel Balzun (b. 1990), "(it) Fell", 2014 [ baritone and viola ], from The arrow, the song, and the bridge, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "The Arrow and the Song", 1922 [ treble voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by George Andus Beaumont Beecroft (1845 - 1873), "The Arrow & the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by William Blair (1793? - 1884), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1915 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Blockley (1800 - 1882), "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ludwig Bonvin (1850 - 1939), "The arrow and the song", op. 40 (Zwei Lieder für Mezzo-Sopran (oder Bariton) mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1898 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "I shot an Arrow", c1895 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Wilbur Chenoweth (1899 - 1980), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1936 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Louis Adolphe Coerne (1870 - 1922), "The Arrow and the Song", op. 28 (Ten Songs) no. 3, published 1894 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Samuel C. Colburn , "The Arrow and the Song", published 1910 [ high voice or medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "The Arrow and the Song", 1893 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by ?, Miss Davis , "The Arrow and the Song", published 188-? [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Samuel Elliot (1846 - 1910), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1880 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Matthew Emery (b. 1991), "The heart of a friend", 2010, first performed 2012 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Frédéric d'Erlanger, Baron, dit Regnal (1868 - 1943), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1934 [ SSAATTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by L. Falk , "The Arrow and the Song", op. 22, published 1869 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893), "The Arrow and the Song", 1883, published 1884 [ voice, piano ], London, Metzler & Co [sung text checked 1 time]
by Charles Beach Hawley (1858 - 1915), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1883 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Walter Cecil Hay (1828 - 1905), "The Arrow and the Song" [ SATB chorus ], partsong [sung text not yet checked]
by (Isador) George Henschel (1850 - 1934), "I shot an Arrow into the air", published 1880 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Edward Laurence Hime (b. 1823), "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961), "The Arrow And The Song", op. 57 no. 6 (1997) [ high voice and piano ], from Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
by William Edward Mulligan , "The Arrow and the Song", published 1887 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Joseph Edward Newell , "The Arrow and the Song" [ 2-part chorus with piano ], in the collection Twelve Two Part Songs for the Use of Schools and Classes [sung text not yet checked]
by George Ord , "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ciro Ercole Pinsuti, Il Cavaliere (1829 - 1888), "The Arrow and the Song", published >>1870 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ciro Ercole Pinsuti, Il Cavaliere (1829 - 1888), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1916 [ SATB chorus and piano ], note: arranged by George L. Tracy [sung text not yet checked]
by Francois Thomas , "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by W. E. Van Curt , "The Arrow and the Song", published 1887 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by William Michael Watson (1840 - 1889), "The Arrow and the Song" [ chorus ], partsong [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ludwig Bonvin.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Mary Wurm.
Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ángel Lasala.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 89