A faery song

   Sung by the people of Faery over Diarmuid and Grania,
   in their bridal sleep under a Cromlech.

We who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Silence and love;
And the long dew-dropping hours of the night,
And the stars above:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Rest far from men.
Is anything better, anything better?
Tell us it then:
Us who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told.

by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) , "A faery song"

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

by (William) Havergal Brian (1876-1972) , "A faery song", published <<1940.
by Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) , "We who are old", 1920. [voice and piano]
by Raymond Warren (1928-) , "A faery song", 1959 [SSATB chorus a cappella], from Irish Madrigals, no. ?

Date added to the website: 2009-01-17.

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