Twilight it is, and the far woods are dim, and the rooks cry and call. 
Down in the valley the lamps, and the mist, and a star over all, 
There by the rick, where they thresh, is the drone at an end, 
Twilight it is, and I travel the road with my friend. 

I think of the friends who are dead, who were dear long ago in the past, 
Beautiful friends who are dead, though I know that death cannot last ; 
Friends with the beautiful eyes that the dust has defiled. 
Beautiful souls who were gentle when I was a child. 

About the headline (FAQ)

First published as "To an old tune" in Speaker, December 1905; revised 1910.

Text Authorship:

• by John Masefield (1878 - 1967), "Twilight", appears in Ballads and Poems, first published 1910 [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 C. Alison-Crompton , "Twilight", published 1919 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Peter Charles Crossley-Holland (1916 - 2001), "Twilight it is" [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Tom Dobson (1890 - 1918), "Twilight", published 1920 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by J. Frederick Keel (1871 - 1954), "Twilight", note: may be wrong text for this setting [sung text not yet checked]
• by Anne Marples , "Twilight", published 1931 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Twilight", R. 7 (1920), published 1936 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Paxton [sung text checked 1 time]
• by David Moule-Evans (b. 1905), "Twilight", published c1951 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Twilight", op. 1 (1943) [ voice and piano ], from The Pageant of Life, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-12-31
Line count: 8
Word count: 102