Mandalay

By the old Moulmein Pagoda lookin' eastward to the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin' and I know she thinks of me.
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple bells they say,
"Come you back, you British soldier, come you back to Mandalay."
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay.
Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin' fishes play,
And the dawn comes up like thunder out of China 'crost the bay.

'er petticoat was yaller, an 'er little cap was green,
An' 'er name was Supiyawlat, jes' the same as Theebaw's queen,
An' I seed her first a-smokin' of a whackin' white cheroot,
An' a-wastin' Christian kisses on a 'eathen idol's foot.
Bloomin' idol made o' mud,
What they called the great Gawd Budd,
Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed her where she stood 
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin' fishes play,
And the dawn comes up like thunder out of China 'crost the bay.

Ship me somewheres east of Suez where the best is like the worst,
Where there aren't no Ten Commandments, an' a man can raise a thirst,
For the temple bells are callin' and it's there that I would be,
By the old Moulmein Pagoda lookin' lazy at the sea.
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay.
Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin' fishes play,
And the dawn comes up like thunder out of China 'crost the bay.

by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) , "Mandalay", from Barrack-Room Ballads, published 1892

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

by Frederic Ayres (1876-1926) , "Mandalay", published 1924. [voice and piano]
by Bewicka Beverley , "Mandalay Waltz", published 1893.
by Walter Johannes Damrosch (1860-1950) , "Mandalay", published 1898. [voice and chorus]
by Harold Dixon , "On the road to Mandalay", published 1927. [voice and piano]
by Arthur Foote (1853-1937) , "Mandalay", published 1915. [voice and piano]
by Harald Genzmer (1909-2007) , "Mandalay", c1963. [4-8 voices (and piano?)]
by Walter William Hedgcock (1864-?) , "On the road to Mandalay", published 1899. [voice and piano]
by Dyneley Prince , "On the road to Mandalay", published 1903. [voice and piano]
by Henry Handel Richardson (1870-1946) [pseudonym] , "Mandalay"
by Oley Speaks (1874-1948) , "On the Road to Mandalay", published 1907. [voice and piano]
by Arthur Wilder Thayer (1857-1934) , "Mandalay", published 1892. [voice and piano]
by H. Travannion , "On the road to Mandalay", published 1898. [voice and piano]
by Arthur Battelle Whiting (1861-1936) , "Mandalay", published 1900 [voice and piano], from Barrack-Room Ballads, no. ?
by Charles Willeby (1865-1955) , "Mandalay", published 1911. [voice and piano]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Gentle Reminder

This project is not funded. If you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated!      - Emily I also have a wishlist at Amazon.ca.

Search/Shop for

Sheet music:

  Search sheetmusicplus.com for Mandalay Waltz, Mandalay, On the road to Mandalay, Art song , Lieder, chansons, or works for solo voice
  Search musicroom.com for Mandalay Waltz, Mandalay, On the road to Mandalay, vocal/choral music

CDs:

  Search amazon.com for Mandalay Waltz, Mandalay, On the road to Mandalay, art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for Mandalay Waltz, Mandalay, On the road to Mandalay, art song, Lieder, or chansons

Books:

  The Art of the Song Recital [amazon.com]
  The Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of Over 1000 Songs [amazon.com]
  Search amazon.com for art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for art song, lieder, or chansons

Classical Vocal Repertoire