by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
Impetuous heart, be still, be still
Language: English
Our translations: FRE
Impetuous heart, be still, be still, Your sorrowful love can never be told; Cover it up with a lonely tune. He that could bend all things to His will Has covered the door of the infinite fold With the pale stars and the wandering moon. Shut to the door before the night has fallen, For who can say what walks, or in what shape Some devilish creature flies in the air, but now Two grey-horned owls hooted above our heads.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with W. B. Yeats, Poems, T. Fisher, London, 1901, page 19.
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), no title, appears in The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, Aleel's song from Scene 1, first published 1892-1912 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Hugo Kauder (1888 - 1972), "Aleel's song", copyright © 1974 [ soprano or tenor, horn, and harp or piano ], from 2 Songs, no. 1, Southern Music Company [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "Impetuous heart, be still", 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-05
Line count: 10
Word count: 80