Star-Talk (Graves, set by I. Gurney, R. Vaughan Williams) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


'Are you awake, Gemelli, 
This frosty night?' 
'We'll be awake till reveillé, 
Which is Sunrise,' say the Gemelli, 
'It's no good trying to go to sleep: 
If there's wine to be got we'll drink it deep, 
But sleep is gone for to-night, 
But sleep is gone for to-night.' 

'Are you cold too, poor Pleiads, 
This frosty night?' 
'Yes, and so are the Hyads: 
See us cuddle and hug,' say the Pleiads, 
'All six in a ring: it keeps us warm: 
We huddle together like birds in a storm: 
It's bitter weather to-night, 
It's bitter weather to-night.' 

'What do you hunt, Orion, 
This starry night?' 
'The Ram, the Bull and the Lion, 
And the Great Bear,' says Orion, 
'With my starry quiver and beautiful belt 
I am trying to find a good thick pelt 
To warm my shoulders to-night, 
To warm my shoulders to-night.' 

'Did you hear that, Great She-bear, 
This frosty night?' 
'Yes, he's talking of stripping me bare 
Of my own big fur,' says the She-bear, 
'I'm afraid of the man and his terrible arrow: 
The thought of it chills my bones to the marrow, 
And the frost so cruel to-night! 
And the frost so cruel to-night!'

'How is your trade, Aquarius, 
This frosty night?' 
'Complaints is many and various 
And my feet are cold,' says Aquarius, 
'There's Venus objects to Dolphin-scales, 
And Mars to Crab-spawn found in my pails, 
And the pump has frozen to-night, 
And the pump has frozen to-night.'

Authorship

Robert Graves (1895-1985)

Over the Brazier

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

Ivor Gurney (1890-1937)

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Date added to the website: 2008-12-11.

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