by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931)
What the Gray‑winged Fairy Said
Language: English
The moon's a gong, hung in the wild, Whose song the fays hold dear. Of course you do not hear it, child. It takes a FAIRY ear. The full moon is a splendid gong That beats as night grows still. It sounds above the evening song Of dove or whippoorwill.
Text Authorship:
- by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931), "What the Gray-winged Fairy Said", appears in The Congo and Other Poems, in 4. Fourth Section: Twenty Poems in which the Moon is the Principal Figure of Speech, in 1. First Section: Moon Poems for the Children/Fairy-tales for the Children, no. 6 [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 Jake Heggie (b. 1961), "What the Gray-winged Fairy Said", 1998, first performed 1998 [voice and piano], from Songs to the Moon, Part 1: "Fairy-Tales for the Children", no. 7. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 50