by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973)
Carry her over the water
Language: English
Carry her over the water,
And set her down under the tree,
Where the culvers white all days and all night,
And the winds from every quarter,
Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeably of love.
Put a gold ring on her finger,
And press her close to your heart,
While the fish in the lake snapshots take,
And the frog, that sanguine singer,
Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeably of love.
The streets shall flock to your marriage,
The houses turn round to look,
The tables and chairs say suitable prayers,
And the horses drawing your carriage
Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeably of love.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), no title, first published <<1945 [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 Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "Carry her over the water", op. 53 no. 5 (1958), published 1960 [ medium voice and piano ], from Five poems, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by James Myron Cohn (b. 1928), "Carry her over the water", 1969 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Phases of Love [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Dickinson (b. 1934), "Carry her over the water", 1956 [ women's chorus and piano ], from Four W. H. Auden Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geoffrey David Gibbs (b. 1940), "Carry her over the water" [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "Carry her over the water" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Reginald Lang-Hyde (1899 - 1990), as Lewis Hyde, "Carry her over the water", 1951 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daniel Rogers Pinkham (1923 - 2006), "Sing agreeably of love", published 1949 [ medium voice and string quartet or orchestra ], from Three Lyric Scenes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wayland Rogers , "Carry her over the water " [ low voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Swift (b. 1927), "Epithalamium" [ soprano and piano (or bassoon and violin) ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-05
Line count: 15
Word count: 99