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.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
View original text (without footnotes)1 Britten: "for the Grand"
2 Musto: "side-walk"
Text 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 page: David K. Smythe
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 183