by Gordon Bottomley (1874 - 1948)

Out of a silence
Language: English 
Out of a silence
The voice of music speaks. 

When words have no more power,
When tears can tell no more,
The heart of all regret
Is uttered by a falling wave
Of melody. 

No more, no more
The voice that gathered us
Shall hush us with deep joy;
But in this hush,
Out of its silence,
In the awaking of music,
It shall return. 

For music can renew
Its gladness and communion,
Until we also sink,
Where sinks the voice of music,
Into a silence.

About the headline (FAQ)

First appeared in An Annual of New Poetry, 1917, London: Constable and Co., Ltd.


Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):


Researcher for this page: David Evan Thomas

This text was added to the website: 2024-07-12
Line count: 19
Word count: 86