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by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

A little bird in the air
Language: English 
A little bird in the air
Is singing of Thyri the fair,
The sister of Svend the Dane;
And the song of the garrulous bird
In the streets of the town is heard,
And repeated again and again.
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.
 
To King Burislaf, it is said,
Was the beautiful Thyri wed,
And a sorrowful bride went she;
And after a week and a day,
She has fled away and away,
From his town by the stormy sea.
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.
 
They say, that through heat and through cold,
Through weald, they say, and through wold,
By day and by night, they say,
She has fled; and the gossips report
She has come to King Olaf's court,
And the town is all in dismay.
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.
 
It is whispered King Olaf has seen,
Has talked with the beautiful Queen;
And they wonder how it will end;
For surely, if here she remain,
It is war with King Svend the Dane,
And King Burislaf the Vend!
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.
 
O, greatest wonder of all!
It is published in hamlet and hall,
It roars like a flame that is fanned!
The King--yes, Olaf the King--
Has wedded her with his ring,
And Thyri is Queen in the land!
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "A Little Bird in the Air", appears in Tales of a Wayside Inn, in The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf, no. 15, first published 1863 [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 Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Thyri (Chorus: Ballad)", op. 30 no. 13, published 1896 [SATB chorus and orchestra], from King Olaf, no. 13. [
     text verified 1 time
    ]
  • by Francis (Frank) Romer (1810 - 1889), "Thyri the Fair" [voice and piano] [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-17
Line count: 40
Word count: 255

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