Only a man harrowing clods
In a slow silent walk
With an old horse that stumbles and nods
Half asleep as they stalk.

Only thin smoke without flame
From the heaps of couch-grass1;
Yet this will go onward the same
Though Dynasties pass.

Yonder a maid and her wight2
Come whispering by:
War's annals will cloud into night
Ere their story die.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
First published in Saturday Review, January, 1916
¹ couch-grass: a type of weed.
² wight: man.

Text Authorship:

• by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'" [author's text not yet checked 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 Frederic Austin (1872 - 1952), "Though dynasties pass", published 1927 [ baritone and piano ], from Three Wessex Songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Joseph W. Baber (b. 1937), "In Time of "The Breaking of Nations"", op. 12 no. ? [ high voice and piano ], from Songs from English Poets [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'", 2004 [ baritone and piano ], from Songs of War, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Lloyd E. Burritt (b. 1940), "In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'", 1963 [ satb chorus a cappella ], madrigal [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "Only a man harrowing clods", 1924, first performed 1990 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Requiem da Camera, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Derek Healey (b. 1936), "In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'", op. 13 no. 4 (1961) [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Five Thomas Hardy Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "In Time of the Breaking of Nations", op. 153 (1947) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gordon Archbold Slater (1896 - 1979), "In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'", published 1926 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ramon Zupko (b. 1932), "The Breaking of Nations", published 1964 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "Amikor a háború"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 64