by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
The summer sun is sinking low
Language: English
The summer sun is sinking low;
Only the tree-tops redden and glow:
Only the weathercock on the spire
Of the neighboring church is a flame of fire;
All is in shadow below.
O beautiful, awful summer day,
What hast thou given, what taken away?
Life and death, and love and hate,
Homes made happy or desolate,
Hearts made sad or gay!
On the road of life one mile-stone more!
In the book of life one leaf turned o'er!
Like a red seal is the setting sun
On the good and the evil men have done,--
Naught can to-day restore!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Sundown", appears in In the Harbor: Ultima Thule - Part II, first published 1882 [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 Carl Reinhold Busch (1862 - 1943), "The summer sun is sinking low", published 1905. [high voice and violin obbligato] [text not verified]
- by Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "Sundown", published 1892 [medium voice and piano], from Longfellow's Songs [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-24
Line count: 15
Word count: 100