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by John Clare (1793 - 1864)

Song's Eternity
Language: English 
What is song's eternity?
  Come and see.
Can it noise and bustle be?
  Come and see.
Praises sung or praises said
  Can it be?
Wait awhile and these are dead --
  Sigh, sigh;
Be they high or lowly bred  They die.

What is song's eternity?
  Come and see.
Melodies of earth and sky,
  Here they be.
Song once sung to Adam's ears
  Can it be?
Ballads of six thousand years
  Thrive, thrive;
Songs awaken with the spheres
  Alive.

Mighty songs that miss decay,
  What are they?
Crowds and cities pass away
  Like a day.
Books are out and books are read;
  What are they?
Years will lay them with the dead --
  Sigh, sigh;
Trifles unto nothing wed,
  They die.

Dreamers, mark the honey bee;
  Mark the tree
Where the blue cap "_tootle tee_"
  Sings a glee
Sung to Adam and to Eve
  Here they be.
When floods covered every bough,
  Noah's ark
Heard that ballad singing now;
  Hark, hark,

"_Tootle tootle tootle tee_" --
  Can it be
Pride and fame must shadows be?
  Come and see --
Every season own her own;
  Bird and bee
Sing creation's music on;
  Nature's glee
Is in every mood and tone
  Eternity.

Text Authorship:

  • by John Clare (1793 - 1864), "Song's Eternity", appears in John Clare: Poems, first published 1920 [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 Ethel Mary Boyce (1863 - 1936), "Song's Eternity", published 1929 [ SA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Lionel Lethbridge , "Song's Eternity", published 1970 [ three-part chorus, piano ], note: music adapted from Schubert's Ländler op. 171 and the Twelve German Dances [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Michael Short (b. 1937), "Song's Eternity", published 1975 [ SSA chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Patric Standford (b. 1939), "Song's Eternity", published 1976 [ women's chorus or boys' chorus, soprano or tenor solo, and orchestra ], from A John Clare Cantata [sung text not yet checked]
  • by James Walter Wilson (b. 1922), "Song's Eternity", 1966 [ double chorus a cappella ], motet [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2005-12-19
Line count: 49
Word count: 195

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