The rushes on the marsh are green, And in the wind they bend. I saw a woman walking there, Near daylight's end. On the black water of the marsh, The lotus buds swim white. I saw her standing by the verge At fall of night. All the long night I lie awake, And sleep I cannot find. I see her slim as any rush Sway in the wind. I shut my eyes and see again The whiteness of her throat, On the black water of the night Like lotus float.
About the headline (FAQ)
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Lyrics from the Chinese by Helen Waddell, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913, page 17.
Authorship:
- by Helen Jane Waddell (1889 - 1965), no title, appears in Lyrics from the Chinese, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , written c605 BCE [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "The rushes on the marsh are green", op. 125 (Ten Songs in Two Sets of Five Each, Set II) no. 3 (1938) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-21
Line count: 16
Word count: 90