The Thames nocturne of blue and gold
Changed to a Harmony in grey:
A barge with ochre-coloured hay
Dropt from the wharf: and chill and cold

The yellow fog came creeping down
The bridges, till the houses' walls
Seemed changed to shadows, and S. Paul's
Loomed like a bubble o'er the town.

Then suddenly arose the clang
Of waking life; the streets were stirred
With country waggons: and a bird
Flew to the glistening roofs and sang.

But one pale woman all alone,
The daylight kissing her wan hair,
Loitered beneath the gas lamps' flare,
With lips of flame and heart of stone.

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: sometimes titled "Impression du Matin"; also the 'e' at the end of "nocturne" in line one is sometimes omitted.

Text Authorship:

• by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Impression de Matin", from World (March 1881), revised same year and also in 1895 [author's text not yet checked 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 Michael Easton (1954 - 2004), "Impression du Matin", 1987 [ voice and piano ], from Wilde Thoughts. A Song-Cycle to Poems of Oscar Wilde [sung text not yet checked]
• by Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920), "Impression du matin", A. 39 (1915), published c1970 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Four Impressions, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "Impression du matin"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 103