by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings (1894 - 1962)
why did you go
Language: English
why did you go little fourpaws? you forgot to shut your big eyes. where did you go? like little kittens are all the leaves which open in the rain. little kittens who are called spring, is what we stroke maybe asleep? do you know?or maybe did something go away ever so quietly when we weren't looking.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with E. E. Cummings, Tulips and Chimneys, New York: Liveright, 1976, in Chansons Innocentes, page 27.
First published as "V" in Seven Poems, in The Dial, Vol. 68, No. 1, January 1920. Not included in the first edition of Tulips and Chimneys, but included in XLI Poems in 1925.
Text Authorship:
- by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings (1894 - 1962), no title, appears in XLI Poems, in 2. Chansons innocentes, no. 1, 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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "why did you go", 1984 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ], from chansons innocentes (1925), no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Milton Cage (1912 - 1992), "Little Four Paws", published 1960 [ contralto and piano ], from 5 Songs for Contralto, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Celius Dougherty (1902 - 1986), "little fourpaws", published 1946 [ medium voice and piano ], from Songs by E. E. Cummings, G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Daron Aric Hagen (b. 1961), "Why did you go?", from Echo's songs, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 56