The day is done

The day is done, and the darkness
  Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
  From an eagle in his flight. 
I see the lights of the village
  Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
  That my soul cannot resist: 
A feeling of sadness and longing,
  That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
  As the mist resembles the rain. 
Come, read to me some poem,
  Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
  And banish the thoughts of day. 
Not from the grand old masters,
  Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
  Through the corridors of Time. 
For, like strains of martial music,
  Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
  And to-night I long for rest. 
Read from some humbler poet,
  Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
  Or tears from the eyelids start; 
Who, through long days of labor,
  And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
  Of wonderful melodies. 
Such songs have power to quiet
  The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
  That follows after prayer. 
Then read from the treasured volume
  The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
  The beauty of thy voice. 
And the night shall be filled with music
  And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
  And as silently steal away.

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) , "The day is done", from The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems, published 1845

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

by George Benjamin Allen (1822-1897) , "The day is done" [voice and piano]
by R. Andrews , "The day is done" [voice and piano]
by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "The day is done" [voice and piano], initials E. W.
by Michael William Balfe (1808-1870) , "The day is done", published >>1856. [low voice and piano]
by Beta , "The day is done" [voice and piano], from Gems of Longfellow
by John J. Blockley, the Younger , "The day is done" [voice and piano]
by O. L. Carter , "The day is done", op. 53, published 1896. [quartet of women's voices unaccompanied]
by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) , "The day is done", op. 149 (Two Longfellow Songs) no. ?, published 1962. [SATB chorus and piano]
by L. S. Davis , "The day is done", published 1875. [voice and piano]
by Alfred Robert Gaul (1837-1913) , "The day is done", published 188-? [choral]
by John J. Kinney , "The day is done", published 1878.
by Hermann Frederic Löhr (1872-1943) , "The day is done", published 1908. [two voices, piano, organ ad libitum]
by Annie Frances Loud (1856-?) , "The day is done", published 1882. [voice and piano]
by William Harold Neidlinger (1863-1924) , "Resting", published 1879. [voice and piano]
by Carl Reinhardt , "The day is done", published 186-? [voice and piano]
by Wilhelm Schäffer , "The day is done", published 1932. [reader and piano]
by W. C. Sellé , "The day is done" [voice and piano]
by Henry Thomas Smart (1813-1879) , "The day is done", published 187-? [voice and piano]
by Eliza Williams , "The day is done" [voice and piano]
by Arthur L. Wood , "The day is done" [voice and piano]

Date added to the website: 2008-06-09.

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