by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973)
Calypso
Language: English
Driver, drive faster and make a good run Down the Springfield Line under the shining sun. Fly like the aeroplane, don't pull up short Till you brake [for Grand]1 Central Station, New York. For there in the middle of that waiting hall Should be standing the one that I love best of all. If he's not there to meet me when I get to town, I'll stand on the [pavement]2 with tears rolling down. For he is the one that I love to look on, The acme of kindness and perfection. He presses my hand and he says he loves me Which I find an admirable peculiarity. The woods are bright green on both sides of the line; The trees have their loves though they're different from mine. But the poor fat old banker in the sun-parlour car Has no one to love him except his cigar. If I were the head of the Church or the State I'd powder my nose and just tell them to wait. For love's more important and powerful than Even a priest or a politician.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Britten: "for the Grand"
2 Musto: "side-walk"
Researcher for this text: David K. Smythe
1 Britten: "for the Grand"
2 Musto: "side-walk"
Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), "Calypso", appears in Another Time, first published 1940 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Calypso", 1939, published 1980 [ voice and piano ], from Cabaret Songs, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Musto (b. 1954), "Calypso", 1996 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: David K. Smythe
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 181