Half close your eyelids, loosen your hair,
And dream about the great and their pride;
They have spoken against you everywhere,
But weigh this song with the great and their pride;
I made it out of a mouthful of air,
Their children's children shall say they have lied.

About the headline (FAQ)

First published in Dome, May 1898, as one of the "Aodh to Dectora. Three Songs", revised 1899, revised 1906

Text Authorship:

• by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Aedh thinks of those who have spoken Evil of his Beloved" [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 Thomas Frederick Dunhill (1877 - 1946), "To Dectora", published 1905 [ voice and piano ], from The wind among the reeds, no. 1, first published in 1900 as "Aodh to Dectora" [sung text not yet checked]
• by Kevin Puts (b. 1972), "He Thinks of Those Who Have Spoken Evil of His Beloved" [ bass-baritone, flute, violin, cello, piano ], from In at the Eye, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul Schwartz (1907 - 1999), "He thinks of those who have spoken evil of his beloved", 1945 [ voice and piano ], from A Poet to His Beloved [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-09-17
Line count: 6
Word count: 48