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by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903)

Where forlorn sunsets flare and fade
Language: English 
Where forlorn sunsets flare and fade
  On desolate sea and lonely sand, 
Out of the silence and the shade
  What is the voice of strange command 
Calling you still, as friend calls friend
  With love that cannot brook delay, 
To rise and follow the ways that wend
  Over the hills and far away?

Hark in the city, street on street
  A roaring reach of death and life, 
Of vortices that clash and fleet
  And ruin in appointed strife, 
Hark to it calling, calling clear,
  Calling until you cannot stay 
From dearer things than your own most dear
  Over the hills and far away.

Out of the sound of the ebb-and-flow,
  Out of the sight of lamp and star, 
It calls you where the good winds blow,
  And the unchanging meadows are; 
From faded hopes and hopes agleam,
  It calls you, calls you night and day 
Beyond the dark into the dream
  Over the hills and far away. 

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903), no title, appears in The Song of Swords and Other Verses, first published 1892 [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 Don L. Blosdale , "Over the hills", published 1955. [SATB chorus a cappella] [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-12-10
Line count: 24
Word count: 157

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