by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
I did the dragon's will until you came
Language: English
I did the dragon's will until you came Because I had fancied love a casual Improvisation, or a settled game That followed if I let the kerchief fall: Those deeds were best that gave the minute wings And heavenly music if they gave it wit; And then you stood among the dragon-rings. I mocked, being crazy, but you mastered it And broke the chain and set my ankles free, Saint George or else a pagan Perseus; And now we stare astonished at the sea, And a miraculous strange bird shrieks at us.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Her triumph", appears in The Winding Stair, in A Woman Young and Old, first published 1929 [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 Francis John Routh (b. 1927), "Her triumph", 1962 [soprano and piano], from A Woman Young and Old [text not verified]
- by Owen Underhill (b. 1954), "Her triumph", 1987 [soprano, cello, and piano], from Yeats Songs, no. 1. [text not verified]
- by James Walter Wilson (b. 1922), "I did the dragon's will until you came", 1966 [soprano and Irish harp], from A Woman Young and Old [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 92