In the lair of the whirling winds alone The Simurgh dwells by the demon stone, Higher than boldest bird can soar, On the peak of the mountain white and hoar. In the lair of the whirling winds alone, The Simurgh dwells by the demon stone. His wings never tire, his eyes never sleep; He flies o’er the height, he broods o’er the deep. No spear can slay him, no kamund bind; As swift as an arrow, he winnows the wind. In ice-green caverns his treasures lie, In the heart of the steep, unseen by the sky. Never shall mortal their splendor behold, For the Simurgh guards them thro’ ages untold. Wonder and wisdom, power and might, All the earth and the heaven are his in his flight. The heroes shall seek him to learn of his lore, And the demons shall fear him for evermore.
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Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [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 Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "The Simurgh", 1898, orchestrated 1945 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of the East IV: Songs of Persia, no. 3, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Hermann Schneider (1860 - 1930) ; composed by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir.
Researcher for this page: Lucy Fitz Gibbon
This text was added to the website: 2016-08-16
Line count: 18
Word count: 145