On the beach at Fontana | Wind whines and whines the shingle

by James Joyce (1882 - 1941)

On the beach at Fontana

Language: English

Our translations: CHI FRE GER

Wind whines and whines the shingle,
The crazy pierstakes groan;
A senile sea numbers each single
Slimesilvered stone.

From whining wind and colder
Grey sea I wrap him warm
And touch his trembling fineboned shoulder
And boyish arm.

Around us fear, descending
Darkness of fear above
And in my heart how deep unending
Ache of love!

First published in Poetry, November 1917.

Text Authorship:

by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "On the beach at Fontana", written 1914, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 6 [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 Lorne M. Betts (b. 1918), "On the beach at Fontana", 1952 [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs (1952) [sung text not yet checked]
by Bill Hopkins (b. 1943), "On the beach at Fontana", published 1967 [ soprano, bass clarinet, trumpet, viola, harp ], from Two Poems, no. 2, London, Universal Edition [sung text not yet checked]
by Jack Marius Jarrett (b. 1934), "On the beach at Fontana", 1964 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from The Unquiet Heart [sung text not yet checked]
by Geert van Keulen (b. 1943), "On the beach at Fontana", 1943, published 1984, rev. 1984 [ soprano, flute (alto flute and piccolo), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, contrabass, harp, vibraphone (tam-tam), mandolin, and guitar ], from Trieste, or Three Poems by James Joyce, no. 1, Amsterdam, Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), "On the beach at Fontana", 1929, published 1933 [ high voice and piano ], from The Joyce Book, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 56