In the swamp in secluded recesses,
A shy and hidden bird is warbling a song.

Solitary the thrush,
The hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements,
Sings by himself a song.

Song of the bleeding throat!
Death's outlet song of life -- (for well, dear brother, I know
If thou wast not [gifted]1 to sing, thou would'st surely die.)

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¹ Hindemith, Sessions: "granted"

Text Authorship:

• by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Memories of President Lincoln, in When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, no. 4 [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 Louis Campbell-Tipton (1877 - 1921), "Elegy", op. 33 (Two Songs to Words by Walt Whitman) no. 1, published 1918 [ voice and piano ], also set in French (Français) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), no title [ baritone, mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra ], from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), no title, from cantata When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd, no. 1
  • View the full text. [sung text not yet checked]
    

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in French (Français), a translation by Léon Tinseau ; composed by Louis Campbell-Tipton.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 59