by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
By the bivouac's fitful flame
Language: English
By the bivouac's fitful flame, A procession winding around me, solemn and sweet and slow - but first I note, The tents of the sleeping army, the fields' and woods' dim outline, The darkness lit by spots of kindled fire, the silence, Like a phantom far or near an occasional figure moving, The shrubs and trees, (as I lift my eyes they seem to be stealthily watching me,) While wind in procession thoughts, O tender and wondrous thoughts, Of life and death, of home and the past and loved, and of those that are far away; A solemn and slow procession there as I sit on the ground, By the bivouac's fitful flame.
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Text Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "By the bivouac's fitful flame" [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 Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, Sir (1891 - 1975), "By the bivouac's fitful flame", published 1930 [ chorus, speaker, and orchestra ], from symphony Morning Heroes, London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harvey Bartlett Gaul (1881 - 1945), "By the bivouac's fitful flame", published 1925 [ tenor, men's chorus, and piano four-hands ], New York: G. Schirmer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Howard Hanson (1896 - 1981), "By the bivouac's fitful flame", published 1935 [ baritone, SATB chorus, and orchestra ], from Songs from "Drum Taps", Glen Rock, NJ : J. Fischer [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Herbert) Hamilton Harty, Sir (1879 - 1941), "By the bivouac's fitful flame", published 1912 [ voice and piano ], London: Boosey [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jeffrey Van (b. 1941), "By the bivouac's fitful flame" [ SATB chorus and guitar ], from A Procession Winding Around Me, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wood (1866 - 1926), "By the bivouac's fitful flame", 1897 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-04-20
Line count: 10
Word count: 113