Come lovely and soothing death,
Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving,
In the day, in the night, to all, to each,
Sooner or later, delicate death.

Prais'd be the fathomless universe,
For life and joy, and for objects and knowledge curious;
And for love, sweet love -- But praise! praise!
For the sure-enwinding arms of cool-enfolding Death.

Dark Mother, always gliding near, with soft feet,
Have none chanted for thee a chant of fullest welcome?

Then I chant it for thee -- I glorify thee above all;
I bring thee a song that when thou must indeed come, come unfalteringly.

Approach, strong Deliveress,
When it is so, when thou hast taken them, I joyously sing the dead,	
Lost in the loving, floating ocean of thee,
Laved in the flood of thy bliss, O Death.

From me to thee glad serenades,
Dances for thee I propose, saluting thee, [adornments and feastings for thee;]1
And the sights of the open landscape, and the high-spread sky, are fitting,
And life and the fields, and the huge and thoughtful night.

The night, in silence, under many a star;
The ocean shore, and the husky whispering wave, whose voice I know;	
And the soul turning to thee, O vast and well-veil'd Death,
And the body gratefully nestling close to thee.

Over the tree-tops I float thee a song!
Over the rising and sinking waves -- over the myriad fields, and the prairies wide;
Over the dense-pack'd cities all, and the teeming wharves and ways,	
I float this carol with joy, with joy to thee, O Death!2

W. Schuman sets stanza 1
G. Crumb sets stanza 7 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
G. Crumb sets stanza 7 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
G. Crumb sets stanza 5 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
G. Crumb sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
G. Crumb sets stanza 3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Duke sets stanzas 1-2 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Duke sets stanzas 3-5 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Duke sets stanzas 6-8 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Rogers sets stanzas 3-5
S. Sargon sets stanzas 1-2, 8

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ omitted by Holst.
² Holst adds "Come lovely and soothing death,/ Come, Come."

Text Authorship:

• by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "Death carol", appears in Memories of President Lincoln, in When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, no. 16 [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 George Crumb (1929 - 2022), "The night in silence under many a star", stanza 7, from Apparition - Elegiac Songs and Vocalises, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by George Crumb (1929 - 2022), "The night in silence under many a star", stanza 7, from Apparition - Elegiac Songs and Vocalises, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by George Crumb (1929 - 2022), "Approach Strong Deliveress!", stanza 5, from Apparition - Elegiac Songs and Vocalises, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by George Crumb (1929 - 2022), "Come lovely and soothing death", stanza 1, from Apparition - Elegiac Songs and Vocalises, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by George Crumb (1929 - 2022), "Dark Mother, always gliding near, with soft feet", stanza 3, from Apparition - Elegiac Songs and Vocalises, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Come, lovely and soothing death", 1935, stanzas 1-2 [ voice and string quartet ], from Three Songs in Praise of Death for Voice and String Quartet, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Dark mother, always gliding near", 1935, stanzas 3-5 [ voice and string quartet ], from Three Songs in Praise of Death for Voice and String Quartet, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "From me to thee glad serenades", 1935, stanzas 6-8 [ voice and string quartet ], from Three Songs in Praise of Death for Voice and String Quartet, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Ode to Death", op. 38, H 144 (1919), published 1922 [ mixed chorus and orchestra ], London, Novello [sung text checked 1 time]
• by James Hotchkiss Rogers (1857 - 1940), "Dark Mother, always gliding near", published 1919, stanzas 3-5 [ voice and piano ], from In Memoriam, no. 1, New York, G. Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Simon Sargon (b. 1938), "Come lovely and soothing death", 2000, stanzas 1-2,8 [ voice and piano ], from Intimations of Mortality, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by William Howard Schuman (1910 - 1992), "To All, To Each", stanza 1, from Carols of Death, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), no title [ baritone, mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra ], from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 9
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    
• by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), no title, from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 3, cantata
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail , Gustav Ringel

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 28
Word count: 261

Viens mort adorable et apaisante,
Ondoie autour du monde, arrivant sereinement, arrivant,
Le jour, la nuit, pour tous, pour chacun,
Plus tôt ou plus tard, mort délicate.

Loué soit l'univers insondable,
Pour la vie et la joie, et pour les objets et la connaissance ;
Et pour l'amour, le doux amour -- Mais louange ! louange ! louange !
Pour les bras qui entourent sûrement de la Mort qui enveloppe fraîchement.

Mère sombre, toujours t'approchant en glissant, avec de doux pieds,
Personne n'a chanté pour toi un chant de bienvenue ?

Alors je le chante pour toi  -- Je te glorifie au-dessus de tout ;
Je t'apporte un chant qui quand tu dois en effet venir, vient sans trembler.

Approche, libération puissante !
Quand il le faut -- quand tu les as pris, je chante joyeusement les morts,
Perdus dans ton océan aimant et flottant,
Lavés dans le déluge de ton bonheur, ô mort.

De moi à toi des sérénades heureuses,
Je propose des danses pour toi, te saluant -- des ornements  et des fêtes pour toi ;
Et les vues sur le paysage ouvert, et le ciel tout en haut sont adaptés,
Et la vie et les champs, et la nuit immense et réfléchie.

la nuit, en silence, sous mainte étoile ;
Le bord de l'océan, et la vague chuchotant d'un ton rauque, dont je connais la voix ;
Et l'âme se tournant vers toi, ô mort vaste et bien dissimulée,
Et le corps se blottissant avec reconnaissance contre toi.

Au-dessus de la cime des arbres je fais flotter un chant !
Au-dessus des vagues qui montent et descendent -- au-dessus de la myriade de champs, et des vastes prairies ;
Au-dessus de toutes les cités denses, et des faubourgs grouillants et des chemins,
Je fais flotter ce chant joyeux avec joie, avec joie à toi, ô mort !