by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973)
Eyes look into the well
Language: English
Eyes look into the well, Tears run down from the eye; The tower cracked and fell From the quiet winter sky. Under the midnight stone Love was buried by thieves; The robbed heart begs for a bone, The damned rustle like leaves. Face down in the flooded brook With nothing more to say, Lies One the soldiers took, And spoiled and threw away.
Text Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), from Best Broadcasts 1939-40, first published 1940 [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 Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "Eyes look into the well", op. 53 no. 4 (1958), published 1960 [ medium voice and piano ], from Five poems, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Peter Dickinson (b. 1934), "Eyes look into the well", 1956 [ high female voice and piano ], from Four W. H. Auden Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Reginald Lang-Hyde (1899 - 1990), as Lewis Hyde, "Eyes look into the well", 1951 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald Senator (b. 1926), "Eyes look into the well" [ soprano and SATB chorus a cappella ], from Summer soon is past [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-02-10
Line count: 12
Word count: 63