by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
The Sun kept setting ‑‑ setting ‑‑ still
Language: English
The Sun kept setting -- setting -- still No Hue of Afternoon -- Upon the Village I perceived From House to House 'twas Noon. The Dusk kept dropping -- dropping -- still No Dew upon the Grass -- But only on my Forehead stopped -- And wandered in my Face -- My Feet kept drowsing -- drowsing -- still My fingers were awake -- Yet why so little sound -- Myself Unto my Seeming -- make? How well I knew the Light before -- I could not see it now -- 'Tis Dying -- I am doing -- but I'm not afraid to know --
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Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890 [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 Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "No dew upon the grass", 1935-40, published 1942 [ low voice and piano ], from Six Songs, no. 4, published in the January edition of New Music [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jake Heggie (b. 1961), "The sun kept setting", 2000, first performed 2000 [ soprano and piano ], from How Well I Knew the Light, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jake Heggie (b. 1961), "The sun kept setting", 2001, first performed 2001 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from The Starry Night, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 87