The green tent (Davies, set by R. Boughton) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


Summer has spread a cool, green tent
Upon the bare poles of this tree;
Where 'tis a joy to sit all day,
And hear the small bird's melody;
To see the sheep stand bolt upright,
Nibbling at grass almost their height.
 
And much I marvel now how men
Can waste their fleeting days in greed;
That one man should desire more gold
Than twenty men should truly need;
For is not this green tent more sweet
Than any chamber of the great?
 
This tent, at which I spend my day,
Was made by Nature's cost, not mine;
And when night comes, and I must sleep,
No matter if my room be fine
Or common, for Content and Health
Can sleep without the power of Wealth.

Authorship

William Henry Davies (1871-1940)

Farewell to Poesy and Other Pieces

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

Rutland Boughton (1878-1960)

Two Duets for Soprano and Contralto

Date added to the website: 2009-01-15.

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