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by (Francis) Bret(t) Harte (1839 - 1902)

What the chimney sang
Language: English 
Over the chimney the night-wind sang
    And chanted a melody no one knew;
And the Woman stopped, as her babe she tossed,
    And thought of the one she had long since lost,
And said, as her teardrops back she forced,
    "I hate the wind in the chimney."

Over the chimney the night-wind sang
    And chanted a melody no one knew;
And the Children said, as they closer drew,
    "'Tis some witch that is cleaving the black night through,
'Tis a fairy trumpet that just then blew,
    And we fear the wind in the chimney."

Over the chimney the night-wind sang
    And chanted a melody no one knew;
And the Man, as he sat on his hearth below,
    Said to himself, "It will surely snow,
And fuel is dear and wages low,
    And I'll stop the leak in the chimney."

Over the chimney the night-wind sang
    And chanted a melody no one knew;
But the Poet listened and smiled, for he
    Was Man and Woman and Child, all three,
And said, "It is God's own harmony,
    This wind we hear in the chimney."

Text Authorship:

  • by (Francis) Bret(t) Harte (1839 - 1902), "What the chimney sang", appears in Echoes of the Foot-Hills, first published 1875 [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 Gertrude Griswold , "What the chimney sang", published 1890. [high voice or medium voice, piano] [
     text not verified 
    ]
  • by Edwin G. Hopkins , "What the chimney sang" [
     text not verified 
    ]
  • by E. T. Remick , "What the chimney sang", published 1893. [voice, piano] [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-12-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 182

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