If I were Lord of Tartary, Myself, and me alone, My bed should be of ivory, Of beaten gold my throne; And in my court should peacocks flaunt, And in my forests tigers haunt, And in my pools great fishes slant Their fins athwart the sun. If I were Lord of Tartary, Trumpeters every day To all my meals should summon me, And in my courtyards bray; And in the evening lamps should shine, Yellow as honey, red as wine, While harp, and flute, and mandoline Made music sweet and gay. If I were Lord of Tartary, I'd wear a robe of beads, White, and gold, and green they'd be -- And small and thick as seeds; And ere should wane the morning star, I'd don my robe and scimitar. And zebras seven should draw my car Through Tartary's dark gleades. Lord of the fruits of Tartary. Her rivers silver-pale! Lord of the hills of Tartary. Glen, thicket, wood, and dale! Her flashing stars, her scented breeze, Her trembling lakes, like foamless seas, Her bird-delighting citron-trees, In every purple vale!
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Authorship
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Tartary", appears in Songs of Childhood, first published 1902 [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 Edward Allam , "Tartary", published <<1956 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "If I were Lord of Tartary", published 1942 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "Tartary" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Halsey Stevens (1908 - 1989), "Lord of Tartary", 1955 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-13
Line count: 32
Word count: 179