Translation by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934)
Song of the Frogs
Language: English  after the Sanskrit (संस्कृतम्)
Throughout the summer they were lying, Their skins were scorching in the sun, Now the rain hath wakened their voices, Their singing hath begun, And welcoming each other, They rise and quench their thirst. And one repeats another's greeting, In courtly words polite and mild, As a scholar learning a lesson, A father teaching his child. With eloquence and wisdom They swell and seem to burst. "Brothers rise and join the throng Our throats are moist and ripe for song. So pray you bellow like a cow, Or bleat like goat, or grunt like sow." Like Brahmans sitting round the altar, Who loudly talk of holy rite, Round the pool the frogs are ranging With speech and song and fight. Their year-long vow of silence Hath ended with the Rain. The joyous earth is now reviving, The trees and flowers now arise, And our hearts go forth in gladness To greet the noisy cries. The singing of the Frogs Hath brought wealth to us again. "Brothers rise and join the throng Our throats are moist and ripe for song. So pray you bellow like a cow, Or bleat like goat, or grunt like sow."
Authorship:
- by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Sanskrit (संस्कृतम्) by Bible or other Sacred Texts [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 Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Song of the Frogs", op. 24 no. 6 (1907-1908), published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from Nine Hyms from the Rig Veda, or Vedic Hymns, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Geoffrey Wieting
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-24
Line count: 32
Word count: 194