O lift your little pinkie, and touch the winter sky. Love’s all over the mountains where the beautiful go to die. If Time were the wicked sheriff in a horse opera, I’d pay for riding lessons and take his gun away. O lift . . . If I were a Valentino, and Fortune were abroad, I’d hypnotise that iceberg till she kissed me of her own accord. If I’d stacked up the velvet and my crooked rib were dead, I’d be breeding white canaries and eating crackers in bed. But my cuffs are soiled and fraying. The kitchen clock is slow, and over the Blue Waters the grass grew long ago.
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First published in Musical Times, October 1952Text Authorship:
- by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973), no title [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Shepherd's carol", published 1962 [ SATB soli and SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-23
Line count: 17
Word count: 111