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Author: Witter Bynner (1881-1968)

Text collections / compilations [warning - not necessarily comprehensive]

A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems
Against the Cold
An Ode to Harvard and Other Poems
Indian Earth
New Poems
Spectra
Take Away the Darkness
The Beloved Stranger
The Jade Mountain

Texts set to music [warning - not necessarily comprehensive]

[x] indicates a placeholder for a text that is not yet in the database
* indicates that a text cannot (yet?) be displayed on this site because of its copyright status.

Note: titles are in bold and first lines are in italics.
A blue rectangle containing a language code such as ENG indicates the presence of a translation to that language. A grey rectangle such as FRE indicates a particular translation (usually one set to music) exists but is missing.

A boy (from A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems) - D. Mason [x]
A concertina-player (from A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems) - D. Mason [x]
A drunkard (from A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems) - D. Mason [x]
A farewell to a friend (With a blue line of mountains north of the wall ) (from The Jade Mountain) *
A hundred mountains and no bird (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
A night thought on Terrace Tower (Far through the night a harp is sighing ) (from The Jade Mountain) - E. Rubbra GER *
A poem (On a road outreaching the white clouds) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
A prophet (from A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems) - D. Mason [x]
A revolutionary (from A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems) - D. Mason [x]
A sigh from a staircase of jade (Her jade-white staircase is cold with dew) (from The Jade Mountain) GER SWE *
J. Beckwith: The staircase of jade

A song of the Southern River (Since I married the merchant of Ch'üt'ang ) (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: A song of the Southern River

A song of the palace (High above, from a jade chamber, songs float half-way to heaven) (from The Jade Mountain) - P. Mennin SWE *
A spring song (In gala robes she comes down from her chamber) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
A tent song (Till we watch the last low star ) *
R. Owen: Till we watch the last low star

A wind, bringing willow-cotton, sweetens the shop (from The Jade Mountain) *
J. Beckwith: Parting at a wine-shop

After a rain at Mokanshan (from Against the Cold) [x] *
R. Graham: After a rain at Mokanshan

An autumn night message (As I walk in the cool of the autumn night ) (from The Jade Mountain) - E. Rubbra GER *
An autumn night message to Qiu (As I walk in the cool of the autumn night ) (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: An autumn night message

Any other time (from New Poems) - N. Rorem [x] *
As I walk in the cool of the autumn night (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: An autumn night message

Autumn bird (from Take Away the Darkness) - R. Graham [x] *
Away from home, I was longing for news (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Border songs III (High in the faint moonlight, wildgeese are soaring) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
A song of the palace (Now that the palace-gate has softly closed on its flowers) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
A spring morning (I awake light-hearted this morning of spring) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Bound home to Mount Song (The limpid river, past its bushes ) (from The Jade Mountain) *
J. Beckwith: The limpid river

Cherry blossoms (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
Clover (from An Ode to Harvard and Other Poems) - W. Watts [x]
Coming down the stairs (Coming down the stairs) (from New Poems) - N. Rorem [x] *
Coming down the stairs (from New Poems) [x] *
N. Rorem: Coming down the stairs

Covet not a gold-threaded robe (from The Jade Mountain) *
P. Mennin: The gold-thread robe

Crossing the Han River (Away from home, I was longing for news) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Dream (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
Dusk (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
El musico - N. Rorem [x] *
En hovdikt (Från det höga jadegemaket ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
En suck fran en trappa av jade (Hennes jadevita trappa ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG GER [x] *
En vårmorgon (Lätt om hjärtat) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Endless yearning I (I am endlessly yearning/ to be in Changan) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Etthundra berg (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Snö på floden

Far through the night a harp is sighing (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: A night thought on Terrace Tower

Farewell to a Japanese Buddhist priest bound homeward (You were foreordained to find the source ) (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: Farewell to a Japanese Buddhist priest bound homeward

Festklädd träder hon ut (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Vårsång

Från det höga jadegemaket (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: En hovdikt

Fullmånen (Fullmånen över sjön/ gör hela himlen ljus ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - S. Bäck, H. Rosenberg CZE ENG GER GER *
Fullmånen över sjön/ gör hela himlen ljus (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) CZE ENG GER GER *
S. Bäck, H. Rosenberg: Fullmånen

Granslos langtan (Jag längtar gränslöst) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Granssanger (Högt i det bleka) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
He never knew (He never knew what was the matter) (from New Poems) - N. Rorem [x] *
He never knew what was the matter (from New Poems) [x] *
N. Rorem: He never knew

He not only plays (from Spectra)
N. Rorem: Opus 101

Hennes jadevita trappa (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG GER [x] *
H. Rosenberg: En suck fran en trappa av jade

Her hands of white jade by a window of snow (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: On hearing her play the harp

Her jade-white staircase is cold with dew (from The Jade Mountain) GER SWE *
J. Beckwith: The staircase of jade

High above, from a jade chamber, songs float half-way to heaven (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
P. Mennin: A song of the palace

High in the faint moonlight, wildgeese are soaring (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Högt i det bleka (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Granssanger

I am endlessly yearning/ to be in Changan (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
I awake light-hearted this morning of spring (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
I bambusnåret (Till-bakalutad ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg CZE ENG GER [x] *
I wonder why my inlaid harp has fifty strings (from The Jade Mountain) *
J. Beckwith: The inlaid harp

In a retreat among bamboos (Leaning alone in the close bamboos) (from The Jade Mountain) CZE GER SWE *
In gala robes she comes down from her chamber (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Jag längtar gränslöst (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Granslos langtan

Lament (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
Långt borta från hemmet (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: På väg över Hanfloden

Lätt om hjärtat (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: En vårmorgon

Leaning alone in the close bamboos (from The Jade Mountain) CZE GER SWE *
Lightning (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
Looking at the moon and thinking of one far away (The moon, grown full now over the sea ) (from The Jade Mountain) CZE SWE GER GER *
Lyssnande till en nattlig flöjt från Shouhsiang-muren (Sanden under gränsberget ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Medan du tillbeder (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Pa besok hos en van i hans lantgard

Moving leaves (from Indian Earth) - N. Rorem [x] *
Note on a Rainy Night to a Friend in the North (You ask me when I am coming. I do not know. ) (from The Jade Mountain) *
J. Beckwith: On a rainy night

Now horses' hooves are treading earth again (from Against the Cold) *
N. Rorem: The sowers

Now that the palace-gate has softly closed on its flowers (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
O there were lights and laughter (from A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems)
J. Duke, R. Hageman: Voices

On a rainy night (You ask me when I am coming. I do not know. ) (from The Jade Mountain) - J. Beckwith *
On a road outreaching the white clouds (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
On hearing a flute at night from the Wall of Shouxiang (The sand below the border-mountain lies like snow) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
On hearing her play the harp (Her hands of white jade by a window of snow ) (from The Jade Mountain) - E. Rubbra GER *
Opus 101 (He not only plays ) (from Spectra) - N. Rorem
Pa besok hos en van i hans lantgard (Medan du tillbeder) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
På en väg (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Poem

På väg över Hanfloden (Långt borta från hemmet ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Parting at a wine-shop (A wind, bringing willow-cotton, sweetens the shop) (from The Jade Mountain) - J. Beckwith *
Parting at a Wine-shop in Nanjing (A wind, bringing willow-cotton, sweetens the shop) (from The Jade Mountain) *
J. Beckwith: Parting at a wine-shop

Poem (På en väg ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Porten har sakta stängts till palatsets (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Sang fran palatset

Preparing me chicken and rice, old friend (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Resignation - W. Blair [x]
River-Snow (A hundred mountains and no bird) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Sanden under gränsberget (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) ENG [x] *
H. Rosenberg: Lyssnande till en nattlig flöjt från Shouhsiang-muren

Sang fran palatset (Porten har sakta stängts till palatsets) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Santa Fe - N. Rorem [x] *
Since I married the merchant of Ch'üt'ang (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: A song of the Southern River

Singing (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
Snö på floden (Etthundra berg ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Sonnet (Summer, O Summer, fill thy shadowy trees ) (from Against the Cold) - N. Rorem *
Stopping at a friend's farm-house (Preparing me chicken and rice, old friend) (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
Summer, O Summer, fill thy shadowy trees (from Against the Cold) *
N. Rorem: Sonnet

The boatmen (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
The crown (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
The gold-thread robe (Covet not a gold-threaded robe ) (from The Jade Mountain) - P. Mennin *
The gold-threaded robe (Covet not a gold-threaded robe ) (from The Jade Mountain) *
P. Mennin: The gold-thread robe

The inlaid harp (I wonder why my inlaid harp has fifty strings) (from The Jade Mountain) - J. Beckwith *
The limpid river (The limpid river, past its bushes ) (from The Jade Mountain) - J. Beckwith *
The limpid river, past its bushes (from The Jade Mountain) *
J. Beckwith: The limpid river

The moon, grown full now over the sea (from The Jade Mountain) CZE SWE GER GER *
The sand below the border-mountain lies like snow (from The Jade Mountain) SWE *
The sowers (Now horses' hooves are treading earth again ) (from Against the Cold) - N. Rorem *
The staircase of jade (Her jade-white staircase is cold with dew) (from The Jade Mountain) - J. Beckwith GER SWE *
The two windows (from Take Away the Darkness) - R. Graham [x] *
The wall (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
The wave (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
The wintry mind (Winter uncovers distances, I find ) (from Against the Cold) - N. Rorem *
Till we watch the last low star (Till we watch the last low star ) - R. Owen *
Till we watch the last low star *
R. Owen: Till we watch the last low star

Till-bakalutad (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) CZE ENG GER [x] *
H. Rosenberg: I bambusnåret

To a Phoebe-Bird [x]
C. Bricken: To a Phoebe-Bird

Tree-toads (from The Beloved Stranger) - V. Babin [x]
Vårsång (Festklädd träder hon ut ) (from Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906) - H. Rosenberg ENG [x] *
Voices (O there were lights and laughter) (from A Canticle of Pan and Other Poems) - J. Duke, R. Hageman
Water-hyacinths (from Indian Earth) - N. Rorem [x] *
Winter uncovers distances, I find (from Against the Cold) *
N. Rorem: The wintry mind

With a blue line of mountains north of the wall (from The Jade Mountain) *
Yes I hear them (Yes I hear them) (from New Poems) - N. Rorem [x] *
Yes I hear them (from New Poems) [x] *
N. Rorem: Yes I hear them

You ask me when I am coming. I do not know. (from The Jade Mountain) *
J. Beckwith: On a rainy night

You were foreordained to find the source (from The Jade Mountain) GER *
E. Rubbra: Farewell to a Japanese Buddhist priest bound homeward

[x] indicates a placeholder for a text that is not yet in the database
* indicates that a text cannot (yet?) be displayed on this site because of its copyright status.