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by Mary Ann Evans (1819 - 1880), as George Eliot

Day is dying! Float, O song
Language: English 
Day is dying! Float, O song,
  Down the westward river,
Requiem chanting to the Day,
  Day, the mighty giver!

Pierced by shafts of Time he bleeds,
  Melted rubies sending
Through the river and the sky,
  Earth and heaven blending;

All the long-drawn earthy banks
  Up to cloud-land lifting:
Slow between them drifts the swan
  'Twixt two heavens drifting,

Wings half open like a flow'r.
  Inly deeper flushing,
Neck and breast as virgin's pure, --
  Virgin proudly blushing.

Day is dying! Float, O swan,
  Down the ruby river,
Follow, song, in requiem
  To the mighty Giver.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Mary Ann Evans (1819 - 1880), as George Eliot, no title, appears in The Spanish Gypsy, first published 1868 [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 Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "Day is dying", op. 1 no. 2, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], from Eight songs from "The Spanish Gypsy", no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 94

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