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That is no country for old men. The young In one another's arms, birds in the trees -- Those dying generations -- at their song, The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long Whatever is begotten, born, and dies. Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect. An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing For every tatter in its mortal dress, Nor is there singing school but studying Monuments of its own magnificence; And therefore I have sailed the seas and come To the holy city of Byzantium. O sages standing in God's holy fire As in the gold mosaic of a wall, Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre, And be the singing-masters of my soul. Consume my heart away; sick with desire And fastened to a dying animal It knows not what it is; and gather me Into the artifice of eternity. Once out of nature I shall never take My bodily form from any natural thing, But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make Of hammered gold and gold enamelling To keep a drowsy Emperor awake; Or set upon a golden bough to sing To lords and ladies of Byzantium Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Sailing to Byzantium", appears in October Blast, first published 1927 [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 Ronald A. Beckett , "Sailing to Byzantium", 2011 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of the Spirit, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Warren (b. 1928), "Sailing to Byzantium", published 1971 [ baritone and piano ], from Songs of Old Age [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Segeln nach Byzantium", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "In viaggio verso Bisanzio", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-20
Line count: 32
Word count: 227
Non è paese per vecchi. Giovani strettamente abbracciati, uccelli sugli alberi -- generazioni morenti -- intenti a cantare, salmoni a cascata, mari affollati di sgombri, pesci, carne, volatili a rammentare, per l'intera estate, ciò che è generato, e nasce, e muore. Catturati da quella musica dei sensi tutti trascurano i monumenti dell'intelletto che mai invecchia. Un uomo anziano è cosa da poco, un mantello cencioso appeso a un bastone, tranne che l'anima non batta le mani cantando, e più forte canti per ogni strappo nella sua veste mortale, non c'è altra scuola di canto che lo studio dei monumenti della sua grandezza; e perciò ho attraversato il mare e sono giunto alla sacra città di Bisanzio. O uomini saggi che dimorate nel sacro fuoco divino come nell'oro dei mosaici di una parete, uscite dal sacro fuoco, scendete in cerchio, e fatevi maestri di canto della mia anima. Consumatemi il cuore; malato di desiderio, che, chiuso dentro un animale morente, ignora cosa è; e accoglietemi nel mistero dell'eternità. Una volta uscito dalla Natura, non prenderò più la mia forma corporea da alcuna cosa naturale, ma quella forma che gli orefici greci danno all'oro battuto fino a sottile foglia per tener desto un imperatore annoiato; o sopra un ramo dorato canterò ai signori e alle dame di Bisanzio di ciò che è passato, che passa o che verrà.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2013 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Sailing to Byzantium", appears in October Blast, first published 1927
This text was added to the website: 2013-03-25
Line count: 32
Word count: 224