by William Cullen Bryant (1794 - 1878)
Is this a time to be cloudy and sad
Language: English
Is this a time to be cloudy and sad, When our mother Nature laughs around; When even the deep blue heavens look glad, And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground? There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren, And the gossip of swallows through all the sky; The ground-squirrel gaily chirps by his den, And the wilding bee hums merrily by. The clouds are at play in the azure space, And their shadows at play on the bright green vale, And here they stretch to the frolic chase, And there they roll on the easy gale. There`s a dance of leaves in that aspen bower, There`s a titter of winds in that beechen tree, There`s a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower, And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea. And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray, On the leaping waters and gay young isles; Ay, look, and he`ll smile thy gloom away.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Cullen Bryant (1794 - 1878), "The Gladness of Nature", from Poems, first published 1832 [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 Clifford Demarest (1874 - 1946), "The Gladness of Nature", published 1937 [SSA chorus and piano], partsong [text not verified]
- by Rutherford H. Merriam , "The Gladness of Nature", published 1934. [SATB chorus, piano] [text not verified]
- by James Lynam Molloy (1837 - 1909), "An Arbor Day song" [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-03-15
Line count: 20
Word count: 173