by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
Mutability
Language: English
From low to high doth dissolution climb, And sink from high to low, along a scale Of awful notes, whose concord shall not fail; A musical but melancholy chime, Which they can hear who meddle not with crime, Nor avarice, nor over-anxious care. Truth fails not; but her outward forms that bear The longest date do melt like frosty rime, That in the morning whitened hill and plain And is no more; drop like the tower sublime Of yesterday, which royally did wear His crown of weeds, but could not ev'n sustain Some casual shout that broke the silent air, Or the unimaginable touch of Time.
Text Authorship:
- by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), "Mutability" [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 Jack Hamilton Beeson (b. 1921), "Mutability", 1976 [voice and piano], from From a Watchtower, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 106