by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
Where dips the rocky highland
Language: English
Where dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake, There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake The drowsy water rats; There we've hid our faery vats, Full of berrys And of reddest stolen cherries. Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim gray sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving olden dances Mingling hands and mingling glances Till the moon has taken flight; To and fro we leap And chase the frothy bubbles, While the world is full of troubles And anxious in its sleep. Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. Where the wandering water gushes From the hills above Glen-Car, In pools among the rushes That scarce could bathe a star, We seek for slumbering trout And whispering in their ears Give them unquiet dreams; Leaning softly out From ferns that drop their tears Over the young streams. Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. Away with us he's going, The solemn-eyed: He'll hear no more the lowing Of the calves on the warm hillside Or the kettle on the hob Sing peace into his breast, Or see the brown mice bob Round and round the oatmeal chest. For he comes, the human child, To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Irish Monthly, December 1886.
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "The stolen child", first published 1886 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The stolen child", 2005 [ baritone and piano ], from Three Magical Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Steven Ebel , "Come away!", 2011 [ high voice and string quartet ], from Irish Lullabies, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gloria Edith Manson , "The stolen child", 1956 [ voice, chorus, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Bradley Rootham (1875 - 1938), "The stolen child", published 1911 [ SATB chorus and piano or orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Kenneth Tavener (1944 - 2013), "The stolen child" [ soprano, flute, harp, viola ], from To a child dancing in the wind, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-02
Line count: 53
Word count: 301