The gray sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.

Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap on the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Browning (1812 - 1889), "Meeting at Night", appears in Bells and Pomegranates, Volume VII, first published 1845 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

• by Nancy Armes , "Meeting at Night" [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Robert Cohen , "Meeting at Night", op. 13, copyright © 1964 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Norman Dello Joio (1913 - 2008), "Meeting at Night", published 1954 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Charles R. Fisher , "Meeting at Night", published 1904 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Donald R. Frederick , "Meeting at Night", published 1958 [ satb chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by William Hawley (b. 1950), "Meeting at Night", first performed 1995 [ SSAATTBB chorus a cappella ], from Four Reveries, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
• by C. H. Reed , "Meeting at Night" [ voice and piano ], from Twelve songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Rettich (1892 - 1988), "Meeting at Night", published 1974 [ tenor or baritone and piano ], from Two songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Margaret Ryan , "Meeting at Night", published 1932 [ high voice and piano ], from Two songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Francis Schwartz (b. 1940), "Meeting at Night", 1960 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Cecil Sharman (1894 - ?), "Meeting at Night", published 1957 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "Meeting at Night", published 1923 [ voice and piano ], from A Broken Arc, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by George Waring Stebbins (1869 - 1930), "Meeting", published 1909 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Lesesne Van Antwerp (b. 1948), "Meeting at Night", 1973, first performed 1974 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Grace White , "Meeting at Night", published 1917 [ violin and piano ], from Three Descriptions from Browning [sung text not yet checked]
• by Maurice C. Whitney (b. 1909), "Meeting at Night", published 1960 [ satb chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by John W. Worth , "Meeting at Night" [ medium voice and piano ], from Twelve Songs by Browning [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Edwin Gerschefski (b. 1909), "Meeting at night, parting at morning", op. 8 no. 2 [ voice and piano ]
  • View the full text. [sung text not yet checked]
    

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Nächtliche Fahrt", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-24
Line count: 12
Word count: 93