by George Herbert (1593 - 1633)
The shepherds sing; and shall I silent...
Language: English
The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be? My God, no hymn for Thee? My soul's a shepherd too; a flock it feeds Of thoughts, and words, and deeds. The pasture is Thy word: the streams, Thy grace Enriching all the place. Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers Outsing the daylight hours. Then will we chide the sun for letting night Take up his place and right: We sing one common Lord; wherefore he should Himself the candle hold. I will go searching, till I find a sun Shall stay, till we have done; A willing shiner, that shall shine as gladly, As frost_nipped suns look sadly. Then will we sing, and shine all our own day, And one another pay: His beams shall cheer my breast, and both so twine, Till ev'n His beams sing, and my music shine.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by George Herbert (1593 - 1633), "Christmas (II)" [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 Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Pastoral" [soprano or mezzo-soprano, tenor, and baritone soli, boys' chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra], from the cantata Hodie, no. 9. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2006-07-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 143