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by James Joyce (1882 - 1941)

Silently she's combing
Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE
Silently she's combing, 
  Combing her long hair, 
Silently and graciously, 
  With many a pretty air. 

The sun is in the willow leaves 
  And on the dappled grass, 
And still she's combing her long hair 
  Before the looking-glass. 

I pray you, cease to comb out, 
  Comb out your long hair, 
For I have heard of witchery 
  Under a pretty air, 

That makes as one thing to the lover 
  Staying and going hence, 
All fair, with many a pretty air 
  And many a negligence.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), no title, appears in Chamber Music, no. 24, first published 1907 [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 David Arditti (b. 1964), no title, op. 20 no. 15 (1998) [ tenor and string quartet ], from Chamber Music, no. 15 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Jeffrey Cohen (b. 1957), "Silently she's combing" [ soprano and cello ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Ross Lee Finney (1906 - 1997), "Silently she's combing", 1952, published 1985, first performed 1975 [ voice and piano ], from Chamber Music, no. 24, Henmar Press [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Tibor Serly (1901 - 1978), "Silently she's combing", 1927 [ mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra ], from Four Songs from "Chamber Music"  [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "Silently she's combing,", 1998 [ mezzo-soprano, viola, clarinet, flute, and piano ], from Along the River, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by (Thomas) Gerard Victory (1921 - 1995), "Silently she's combing", 1954 [ tenor, SATB chorus, and instrumental ensemble ], from Five Songs by James Joyce [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 82

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