by Coventry (Kersey Dighton) Patmore (1823 - 1896)
Translation
Evening scene
Language: English  after the English
The sheep-bell tolleth curfew-time; The gnats, a busy rout, Fleck the warm air; the dismal owl Shouteth a sleepy shout; The voiceless bat, more felt than seen, Is flitting round about. The aspen leaflets scarcely stir: The river seems to think: Athwart the dusk, broad primroses Look coldly from the brink, Where, list'ning to the freshet's noise, The quiet cattle drink. The bees boom past, the white moths rise Like spirits from the ground; The gray flies hum their weary tune, A distant-dream-like sound; And far, far off to the slumb'rous eve, Bayeth an old guard-hound.
Based on stanzas 31-33 of the original poem.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on
- a text in English by Coventry (Kersey Dighton) Patmore (1823 - 1896), "The river", first published 1844
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Evening scene", 1906, published 1906 [SATB chorus a cappella], London : Novello [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 96