Upon this leafy bush With thorns and roses in it, Flutters a thing of light, A twittering linnet. And all the throbbing world Of dew and sun and air By this small parcel of life Is made more fair; As if each bramble-spray And mounded gold-wreathed furze, Harebell and little thyme, Were only hers; As if this beauty and grace Did to one bird belong, And, at a flutter of wing, Might vanish in song.
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Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The linnet", appears in Motley and Other Poems, first published 1918 [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 Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "The linnet", op. 21 (Two Songs) no. 1, published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "The linnet", from Four songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eric Leigh , "The linnet", published 1962 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kenneth Leighton (1929 - 1988), "The linnet", published 1957 [ soprano or tenor, chorus, strings, piano, timpani ad libitum, cymbals ad libitum ], from The Birds, choral suite [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Russell Naylor (b. 1933), "The linnet" [ tenor or baritone and piano ], from Bird Songs [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 75