by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
I shot an Arrow into the air
Language: English
I shot an Arrow into the air It fell to earth I [knew]1 not where, For so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight. I breath'd a Song into the air It fell to earth, I [knew]1 not where. For who has sight so keen and strong That it can follow the flight of a song? Long, long afterward in an oak I found the Arrow still unbroke; And the Song from begining to end I found again in the heart of a friend.
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View original text (without footnotes)Note: parodied in the anonymous poem I stuck a pin into a chair.
1 Balfe, Emery: "know"Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The Arrow and the Song", appears in The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems, first published 1846 [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 Jan van Amerongen (b. 1938), "The arrow and the song", from Thompson-liederen, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael William Balfe (1808 - 1870), "The Arrow and the Song" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Joel Balzun (b. 1990), "(it) Fell", 2014 [ baritone and viola ], from The arrow, the song, and the bridge, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "The Arrow and the Song", 1922 [ treble voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Andus Beaumont Beecroft (1845 - 1873), "The Arrow & the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Blair (1793? - 1884), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1915 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Blockley (1800 - 1882), "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig Bonvin (1850 - 1939), "The arrow and the song", op. 40 (Zwei Lieder für Mezzo-Sopran (oder Bariton) mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1898 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "I shot an Arrow", c1895 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilbur Chenoweth (1899 - 1980), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1936 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Adolphe Coerne (1870 - 1922), "The Arrow and the Song", op. 28 (Ten Songs) no. 3, published 1894 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel C. Colburn , "The Arrow and the Song", published 1910 [ high voice or medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "The Arrow and the Song", 1893 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by ?, Miss Davis , "The Arrow and the Song", published 188-? [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ellen Dickson (1819 - 1878), as Dolores, "The Arrow & the Song", published 1854 [ voice and piano ], She sleeps, my lady sleeps! [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Samuel Elliot (1846 - 1910), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1880 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Matthew Emery (b. 1991), "The heart of a friend", 2010, first performed 2012 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frédéric d'Erlanger, Baron (1868 - 1943), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1934 [ SSAATTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by L. Falk , "The Arrow and the Song", op. 22, published 1869 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893), "The Arrow and the Song", 1883, published 1884 [ voice, piano ], London, Metzler & Co [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Beach Hawley (1858 - 1915), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1883 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walter Cecil Hay (1828 - 1905), "The Arrow and the Song" [ SATB chorus ], partsong [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Isador) George Henschel (1850 - 1934), "I shot an Arrow into the air", published 1880 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Laurence Hime (b. 1823), "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elisabeth Lamina Johanna (Lize) Kuyper (1877 - 1953), "The Arrow and the Song", op. 17 (Sechs Lieder) no. 1, copyright © 1922 [ voice and piano ], Berlin ; Leipzig : Simrock , also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961), "The Arrow And The Song", op. 57 no. 6 (1997) [ high voice and piano ], from Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by William Edward Mulligan , "The Arrow and the Song", published 1887 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Edward Newell , "The Arrow and the Song" [ 2-part chorus with piano ], in the collection Twelve Two Part Songs for the Use of Schools and Classes [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Ord , "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ciro Ercole Pinsuti, Il Cavaliere (1829 - 1888), "The Arrow and the Song", published >>1870 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ciro Ercole Pinsuti, Il Cavaliere (1829 - 1888), "The Arrow and the Song", published 1916 [ SATB chorus and piano ], note: arranged by George L. Tracy [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francois Thomas , "The Arrow and the Song" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by W. E. Van Curt , "The Arrow and the Song", published 1887 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Michael Watson (1840 - 1889), "The Arrow and the Song" [ chorus ], partsong [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Danish (Dansk), a translation by Christian Preezmann (1822 - 1893) ; composed by Peter Arnold Heise.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ludwig Bonvin.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Mary Wurm.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Bernhoff-München ; composed by Elisabeth Lamina Johanna Kuyper.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ángel Lasala.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 89
Der Pfeil und das Lied
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Einst schoss ich einen Pfeil weit fort, Zur Erd' fiel er an fernem Ort, Ist sein Flug doch so schnell und leicht, Dass kein Auge das Ziel erreicht. Ich sang ein Lied im freien Wald, Wie's klang, ach, ich vergass es bald, Wie kommt ein Lied? Wo fliegt es hin? Nicht kann ihm folgen der hell'ste Sinn! Doch hab' endlich ich beid' entdeckt, Den Pfeil im Laube tief versteckt, Und das Lied, wieder klang es so zart, Des Freundes Herz hat es treu aufbewahrt.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The Arrow and the Song", appears in The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems, first published 1846
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mary Wurm (1860 - 1938), "Der Pfeil und das Lied", published 1890 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Bote & Bock [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2022-06-25
Line count: 12
Word count: 84