by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
After long silence
Language: English
Speech after long silence; it is right, All other lovers being estranged or dead, Unfriendly lamplight hid under its shade, The curtains drawn upon unfriendly night, That we descant and yet again descant Upon the supreme theme of Art and Song: Bodily decrepitude is wisdom; young We loved each other and were ignorant.
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "After long silence", appears in Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems, first published 1932 [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 Raymond Warren (b. 1928), "After long silence", published 1971 [ baritone and piano ], from Songs of Old Age [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 53