by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
The star‑filled seas are smooth to‑night
Language: English
The star-filled seas are smooth to-night From France to England strown; Black towers above the Portland light The felon-quarried stone. On yonder island, not to rise, Never to stir forth free, Far from his folk a dead lad lies That once was friends with me. Lie you easy, dream you light, And sleep you fast for aye; And luckier may you find the night Than ever you found the day.
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Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), "The Isle of Portland", appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 59, first published 1896 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Thomas Frederick Dunhill (1877 - 1946), "The Isle of Portland", published <<1946 [ duet for low voice or medium voice and soprano with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Edmunds (1913 - 1986), "The Isle of Portland", published 1950 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "The Isle of Portland", 1938, published 1940 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "The Isle of Portland -- The star-filled skies", published 2001 [ baritone and piano ], from Four Housman Songs, no. 1, Da Capo Music Ltd.  [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: 12
Word count: 70