by William Sharp (1855 - 1905), as Fiona Macleod
The Exile
Language: English
It is not when the seamew cries above the grey-green foam Or circling o'er the bracken-fields the fluttering lapwings fly, Or when above the broom and gale the lark is in his windy home That thus I long, and with old longing sigh. For I am far away now, and now have time for sighing, For sighing and for longing, where the grey houses stand. In dreams I am a seamew flying, flying, flying To where my heart is, in my own lost land. It is when in the crowded streets the rustling of white willows And tumbling of a brown hill-water obscure the noisy ways ; Then is the ache a bitter pain ; and to hear grey-green billows, Or the hill-wind in a broom-sweet place.
Text Authorship:
- by William Sharp (1855 - 1905), as Fiona Macleod, "The Exile", appears in The Hour of Beauty [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 John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Exile", op. 26 (1944) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2023-04-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 125