Anthem for Doomed Youth | What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918)

Anthem for Doomed Youth

Language: English

Our translations: CAT FRE GER SPA

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
  Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
  Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, --
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
  Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
  The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• B. Britten

Note: in Britten's War Requiem, this is sung by the tenor.

Text Authorship:

by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918), "Anthem for Doomed Youth", first published 1917 [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 Walter Gaze Cooper (b. 1895), "Anthem for Doomed Youth", op. 59 [ speaker and orchestra ], from Symphony no. 6 (A Symphony of War) [sung text not yet checked]
by John Greer (b. 1954), "Anthem for Doomed Youth ", from Sing me at midnight, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jason Rico (b. 1978), "Anthem for Doomed Youth" [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Requiem aeternam", op. 66 no. 1, published 1961 [ soprano, tenor, baritone, satb chorus, boys' chorus, orchestra, chamber orchestra, organ ], from War Requiem, no. 1
- View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Researcher for this page: Jason Rico

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 109