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


When I did wake this morn from sleep,
  It seemed I heard birds in a dream;
Then I arose to take the air --
  The lovely air that made birds scream;
Just as a green hill launched the ship
Of gold, to take its first clear dip.

And it began its journey then,
  As I came forth to take the air;
The timid Stars had vanished quite,
  The Moon was dying with a stare;
Horses, and kine, and sheep were seen,
As still as pictures, in fields green.

It seemed as though I had surprised
  And trespassed in a golden world
That should have passed while men still slept!
  The joyful birds, the ship of gold,
The horses, kine, and sheep did seem
As they would vanish for a dream.

Authorship

William Henry Davies (1871-1940)

Nature Poems and Others

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)

Five Partsongs

Ivor Gurney (1890-1937)

Date added to the website: 2009-01-14.

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