by James Stephens (1882 - 1950)
Midnight
Language: English
And suddenly I wakened up in such a fright ; I thought I heard a movement in the room But did not dare to look ; I snuggled right Down underneath the bedclothes then the boom Of a tremendous voice said, "Sit up, lad, And let me see your face." So up I sat, Although I didn't want to. I was glad I did though, for it was an angel that Had called me, and he said, he'd come to know Was I the boy who wouldn't say his prayers Nor do his sums, and that I'd have to go Straight down to hell because of such affairs. ... I said I'd be converted and do good If he would let me off; he said he would.
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Authorship:
- by James Stephens (1882 - 1950), "Midnight", appears in The Adventures of Seumas Beg [and] The Rocky Road to Dublin, first published 1915, revised 1926 [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 John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Midnight", 1974 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Horace Lapp (b. 1904), "Midnight", 1964 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 127