by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)
Do you ask what the birds say? The...
Language: English
Do you ask what the birds say? The Sparrow, the Dove, The Linnet and Thrush say " I love and I love!" In the winter they're silent -- the wind is so strong; What it says, I don't know, but it sings a loud song. But green leaves, and blossoms, and sunny warm weather, And singing and loving -- all come back together. But the Lark is so brimful of gladness and love, The green fields below him, the blue sky above, That he sings, and he sings; and forever sings he -- "I love my Love, and my Love loves me!"
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834), "Answer to a child's question" [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 Richard Rodney Bennett (1936 - 2012), "The lark", published 1966 [voice or unison chorus and piano], from The Aviary, no. 5 [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "Answer to a child's question", op. 48 (1978), first performed 1979 [coloratura soprano and woodwind quintet or piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Stephen Wilkinson.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-08
Line count: 10
Word count: 99