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I stood with the Dead, so forsaken and still: When dawn was grey I stood with the Dead. And my slow heart said, 'You must kill, you must kill: 'Soldier, soldier, morning is red'. On the shapes of the slain in their crumpled disgrace I stared for a while through the thin cold rain... 'O lad that I loved, there is rain on your face, 'And your eyes are blurred and sick like the plain.' I stood with the Dead ... They were dead; they were dead; My heart and my head beat a march of dismay: And gusts of the wind came dulled by the guns. 'Fall in!' I shouted; 'Fall in for your pay!'
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Confirmed with Siegfried Sassoon, PICTURE-SHOW and other poems, E.P. Dutton and company, New York, 1920, page 11
Text Authorship:
- by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886 - 1967), "I stood with the dead", appears in Picture-Show, no. 7, first published 1919 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Ippolito (b. 1985), "I stood with the dead", 2013 [ baritone, SATB chorus, flute or piccolo, trumpet, percussion, organ, and piano ], from Six Sassoon Songs, no. 2, confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Michael Ippolito (b. 1985), "I Stood with the Dead", 2006, first performed 2006 [ baritone, SATB quartet or SATB chorus, flute or piccolo, trumpet, percussion, organ, and piano ], from Songbook of the War, no. 4, confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "I stood with the dead", 2004 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "J'étais avec les morts", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-03-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 115
J'étais avec les Morts, si abandonnés et si immobiles : Dans cette aube grise, j'étais avec les Morts. Et mon cœur engourdi disait « Tu dois tuer, tu dois tuer : Soldat, soldat, le matin est rouge ». Sur les corps des morts, leur disgrâce décomposée Je fixai les yeux un moment, sous un froid crachin … « Ô garçon que j'aimais, il pleut sur ta figure Et tes yeux sont aussi brouillés et morbides que la plaine. » J'étais avec les Morts … Ils étaient morts ; ils étaient morts ; Mon cœur et ma tête battaient une marche de sauve-qui-peut : Et vinrent des rafales de vent atténuées par les canons. « En rangs ! – j'ai hurlé – en rangs pour votre salaire ! »
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2017 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886 - 1967), "I stood with the dead", appears in Picture-Show, no. 7, first published 1919
This text was added to the website: 2017-01-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 121