Song Cycle by Luigi Zaninelli (1932-)

?. Bed in summer

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "Bed in summer", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

In winter I get up at night,
And dress by yellow candle light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

?. Rain

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "Rain", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.

?. Where go the boats?

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "Where go the boats?", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating -
Where will all come home?

On goes the river
And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.

?. Foreign children

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "Foreign children", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanese,
O! don't you wish that you were me?

You have seen the scarlet trees
And the lions over seas;
You have eaten ostrich eggs,
And turned the turtles off their legs.

Such a life is very fine,
But it's not so nice as mine:
You must often, as you trod,
Have wearied not to be abroad.

You have curious things to eat,
I am fed on proper meat;
You must dwell beyond the foam,
But I am safe and live at home.

Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanese,
O! don't you wish that you were me?

?. The world is so full of a number of things

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "Happy thought", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

?. The Land of Nod

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "The Land of Nod", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

From breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.

All by myself I have to go,
With none to tell me what to do --
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain-sides of dreams.

The strangest things are these for me,
Both things to eat and things to see,
And many frightening sights abroad
Till morning in the land of Nod.

Try as I like to find the way,
I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear.

?. Marching song

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "Marching song", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

Bring the comb and play upon it!
Marching, here we come!
Willie cocks his highland bonnet,
Johnnie beats the drum.

Mary Jane commands the party,
Peter leads the rear;
Feet in time, alert and hearty,
Each a Grenadier!

All in the most martial manner
Marching double-quick;
While the napkin like a banner
Waves upon the stick!

Here's enough of fame and pillage,
Great commander Jane!
Now that we've been round the village,
Let's go home again.

?. Shadow march

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "Shadow march", from A Child's Garden of Verses, in Northwest Passage, no. 2

See other settings of this text

All around the house is the jet-black night;
  It stares through the window-pane;
It crawls in the corners, hiding from the light,
  And it moves with the moving flame.

Now my little heart goes a beating like a drum,
  With the breath of the Bogies in my hair;
And all around the candle the crooked shadows come,
  And go marching along up the stair.

The shadow of the balusters, the shadow of the lamp,
  The shadow of the child that goes to bed --
All the wicked shadows coming tramp, tramp, tramp,
  With the black night overhead.

?. The swing

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "The swing", from A Child's Garden of Verses, published 1885

See other settings of this text

Available translations (or transliterations, if applicable):

FRE French (Sylvain Labartette)

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside -

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown -
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

Search/Shop for

Sheet music:

  Search sheetmusicplus.com for The world is so full, Art song , Lieder, chansons, or works for solo voice
  Search musicroom.com for The world is so full, vocal/choral music

CDs:

  Search amazon.com for The world is so full, art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for The world is so full, art song, Lieder, or chansons

Books:

  The Art of the Song Recital [amazon.com]
  The Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of Over 1000 Songs [amazon.com]
  Search amazon.com for art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for art song, lieder, or chansons

Classical Vocal Repertoire