by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903)
The North Wind
Language: English
Fresh from his fastnesses Wholesome and spacious, The North Wind, the wild huntsman, Halloas on his white hounds Over the grey, roaring Reaches and ridges, The forest of ocean, The chace of the world. Hark to the peal Of the pack in full cry, As he thongs them before him, Swarming voluminous, Weltering, wide-wallowing, Till in a ruining Chaos of energy, Hurled on their quarry, They crash into foam! Old Indefatigable Time's right-hand man, the sea Laughs as in joy From his millions of wrinkles: Laughs that his destiny, Great with the greatness Of triumphing order, Shows as a dwarf By the strength of his heart And the might of his hands. Master of masters, And maker of heroes Thunder the brave, Irresistible message: - "Life is worth living Through every grain of it, From the foundations To the last edge Of the cornerstone, death."
Text Authorship:
- by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903) [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 Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "The North Wind", first performed 1899 [ bass and orchestra ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 144