Song of the Frogs (Holst, set by G. Holst) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


 Throughout the summer they were lying,
 Their skins were scorching in the sun,
 Now the rain hath wakened their voices,
 Their singing hath begun,
 And welcoming each other,
 They rise and quench their thirst.
 And one repeats another's greeting,
 In courtly words polite and mild,
 As a scholar learning a lesson,
 A father teaching his child.
 With eloquence and wisdom
 They swell and seem to burst.
 "Brothers rise and join the throng
 Our throats are moist and ripe for song.
 So pray you bellow like a cow,
 Or bleat like goat, or grunt like sow."

 Like Brahmans sitting round the altar,
 Who loudly talk of holy rite,
 Round the pool the frogs are ranging
 With speech and song and fight.
 Their year-long vow of silence
 Hath ended with the Rain.
 The joyous earth is now reviving,
 The trees and flowers now arise,
 And our hearts go forth in gladness
 To greet the noisy cries.
 The singing of the Frogs
 Hath brought wealth to us again.
 "Brothers rise and join the throng
 Our throats are moist and ripe for song.
 So pray you bellow like a cow,
 Or bleat like goat, or grunt like sow."

Input by Geoffrey Wieting

Authorship

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Based on

text

Bible or other Sacred Texts

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Vedic Hymns

Date added to the website: 2003-11-24.

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