by James Stephens (1882 - 1950)
Follow, follow, follow !
Language: English
Follow, follow, follow ! Blackbird, thrush and swallow ; The air is soft, the sun is dancing through The dancing boughs; A little while me company along And I will go with you : Arouse, arouse ! Among the leaves I sing my pleasant song. Blackbird, thrush and swallow ! Indeed the visits that I pay are few. Then come to me as I have come to you : O follow, follow, follow ! Leave for a little time your nested boughs And me accompany along. Join me while I am happy : Rouse, O rouse ! Among the leaves I sing my pleasant song. Sky, sky, On high, O gentle majesty ! Come all ye happy birds and follow, follow Under the slender interlacing boughs Blackbird, thrush and swallow ! No longer in the sunlight sit and drowse But me accompany along ; No longer be ye mute : Arouse, arouse ! Among the leaves I sing my pleasant song. Lift, lift, ye happy birds, Lift song and wing. And sing and fly, And fly again and sing Up to the very blueness of the sky Your happy words: O follow, follow, follow ! Where I go racing through the shady ways, Blackbird, thrush and swallow, Shouting aloud our ecstasy of praise : Under the slender interlacing boughs Me company along. The sun is coming with us : Rouse, O rouse ! Among the leaves I sing my pleasant song.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by James Stephens (1882 - 1950), no title, appears in The Hill of Vision, in A Prelude and a Song, no. 9 [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 Hageman (1881 - 1966), "Me company along", published 1925, copyright © 1925 [ high voice and piano ], New York: Carl Fischer Inc. [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-22
Line count: 43
Word count: 224