by Violet Jacob (1863 - 1946)
The wild geese
Language: English
'Oh tell me what was on yer road, ye roarin’ norlan’ Wind, As ye cam’ blawin’ frae the land that’s niver frae my mind? My feet they traivel England, but I’m deein’ for the north.' 'My man, I heard the siller tides rin up the Firth o Forth.' 'Aye, Wind, I ken them weel eneuch, and fine they fa’ and rise, And fain I’d feel the creepin’ mist on yonder shore that lies, But tell me, ere ye passed them by, what saw ye on the way?' 'My man, I rocked the rovin’ gulls that sail abune the Tay.' 'But saw ye naething, leein’ Wind, afore ye cam’ to Fife? There’s muckle lyin’ ‘yont the Tay that’s mair to me nor life.' 'My man, I swept the Angus braes ye hae'na trod for years.' 'O Wind, forgi’e a hameless loon that canna see for tears!' 'And far abune the Angus straths I saw the wild geese flee, A lang, lang skein o’ beatin’ wings, wi’ their heids towards the sea, And aye their cryin’ voices trailed ahint them on the air –' 'O Wind, hae maircy, haud yer whisht, for I daurna listen mair!'
Authorship:
- by Violet Jacob (1863 - 1946), "The wild geese" [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 Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "The wild geese" [voice and piano] [text not verified]
Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson
This text was added to the website: 2016-06-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 194