by William Watson, Sir (1858 - 1935)
World‑Strangeness
Language: English
Strange the world about me lies,
Never yet familiar grown --
Still disturbs me with surprise,
Haunts me like a face half known.
In this house with starry dome,
Floored with gemlike plains and seas,
Shall I never feel at home,
Never wholly be at ease?
On from room to room I stray,
Yet my Host can ne'er espy,
And I know not to this day
Whether guest, or captive I.
So, betwixt the starry dome
And the floor of plains and seas,
I have never felt at home,
Never wholly been at ease.
Text Authorship:
- by William Watson, Sir (1858 - 1935), "World-Strangeness", appears in Wordsworth's Grave and Other Poems, first published 1891 [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 Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "World-Strangeness", 1925 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-21
Line count: 16
Word count: 93