In my craft or sullen art Exercised in the still night When only the moon rages And the lovers lie abed With all their griefs in their arms, I labor by singing light Not for ambition or bread Or the strut and trade of charms On the ivory stages But for the common wages Of their most secret heart. Not for the proud man apart From the raging moon I write On these spindrift pages Nor for the towering dead With their nightingales and psalms But for the lovers, their arms Round the griefs of the ages, Who pay no praise or wages Nor heed my craft or art.
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Authorship:
- by Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953), "In my craft or sullen art", appears in Deaths and Entrances, first published 1946 [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 Peter Billam (b. 1948), "In my craft or sullen art", from Three Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wayne L. Davies (b. 1975), "In my craft or sullen art", 2001 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Dylan Thomas Song Cycle, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Peter Dickinson (b. 1934), "In my craft or sullen art", from A Dylan Thomas Song Cycle, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Fortner (1907 - 1987), "In my craft or sullen art", 1970/80 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder aus dem Nachlass, no. 5, Schott Music [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Widmer (1927 - 1990), "In my craft or sullen art", op. 15 no. 1 (1957), first performed 1958 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Letztes, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-18
Line count: 20
Word count: 109