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by Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912)

Scythe song
Language: English 
Mowers, weary and brown, and blithe,
  What is the word methinks ye know,
Endless over-word that the Scythe
  Sings to the blades of the grass below?
Scythes that swing in the grass and clover,
  Something, still, they say as they pass;
What is the word that, over and over,
  Sings the Scythe to the flowers and grass?

Hush, ah hush, the Scythes are saying,
  Hush, and heed not, and fall asleep;
Hush, they say to the grasses swaying,
  Hush, they sing to the clover deep!
Hush -- 'tis the lullaby Time is singing --
  Hush, and heed not, for all things pass,
Hush, ah hush! and the Scythes are swinging
  Over the clover, over the grass!

Text Authorship:

  • by Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912), "Scythe song", appears in Grass of Parnassus. Rhymes Old and New, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., first published 1888 [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 Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "Scythe song", op. 68 (4 SATB Songs) no. 3 (1908) [ SATB chorus ], Boston : A.P. Schmidt [sung text not yet checked]
  • by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Scythe Song", op. 470 (1956) [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2012-04-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 117

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