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by Charles Causley, CBE (1917 - 2003)

In my garden
Language: English 
Chosen for Diff
In my garden
Grows a tree
Dances day
And night for me,
Four in a bar
Or sometimes three
To music secret
As can be.

Nightly to
Its hidden tune
I watch it move
Against the moon,
Dancing to
A silent sound,
One foot planted
In the ground.

Dancing tree,
When may I hear
Day or night
Your music clear?
What the note
And what the song
That you sing
The seasons long?

It is written
Said the tree,
On the pages
Of the sea;
It is there
At every hand
On the pages
Of the land;

Whether waking
Or in dream:
Voice of meadow-grass
And stream,
And out of
The ringing air
Voice of sun
And moon and star.

It is there
For all to know
As tides shall turn
And wildflowers grow;
There for you
And there for me,
Said the glancing
Dancing tree.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   J. Rutter 

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Charles Causley, CBE (1917 - 2003) [author's text not yet checked 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 Nancy Reale Gifford , "Dancing Tree", copyright © 2008 [ sa chorus, flute and piano ], Santa Barbara Music Publishing
        Publisher: Santa Barbara Music Publishing [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]
  • by John Milford Rutter, CBE (b. 1945), "In my garden'", 2024 [ soprano, mixed chorus and harp ], from Dancing Tree, no. 2, Oxford University Press
        Publisher: Oxford University Press [external link]  [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-08-31
Line count: 48
Word count: 146

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