by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)
Thou whose spell can raise the dead
Language: English
Thou whose spell can raise the dead, Bid the prophet's form appear. 'Samuel, raise thy buried head! King, behold the phantom seer!' Earth yawn'd; he stood the centre of a cloud: Light changed its hue, retiring from his shroud. Death stood all glassy in his fixed eye: His hand was wither'd, and his veins were dry; His foot, in bony whiteness, glitter'd there, Shrunken and sinewless, and ghastly bare; From lips that moved not and unbreathing frame, Like cavern'd winds, the hollow acccents came. Saul saw, and fell to earth, as falls the oak, At once, and blasted by the thunderstroke. 'Why is my sleep disquieted? Who is he that calls the dead? Is it thou, O King? Behold, bloodless are these limbs, and cold: Such are mine; and such shall be Thine to-morrow, when with me: Ere the coming day is done, Such shalt thou be, such thy son. Fare thee well, but for a day, Then we mix our mouldering clay. Thou, thy race, lie pale and low, Pierced by shafts of many a bow; And the falchion by thy side To thy heart thy hand shall guide: Crownless, breathless, headless fall, Son and sire, the house of Saul!'
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Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "Saul", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 19, first published 1815 [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 David Leo Diamond (1915 - 2005), "Saul", published 1969 [ voice and piano ], from Hebrew melodies, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "Saul", published 1815 [ voice and piano ], from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 19 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edwin W. Simcox , "Hebrew melody", published 1876 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by W. G. Thompson , "Saul", published 1901 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846) , "Saul und Samuel", appears in Hebräische Gesänge, first published 1820 ; composed by Carl Loewe.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris) , "Saül", appears in Mélodies hébraïques, no. 19
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-13
Line count: 30
Word count: 201