Sonnet LXXXVII: Death's Songsters
When first that horse, within whose populous womb
The birth was death, o'ershadowed Troy with fate,
Her elders, dubious of its Grecian freight,
Brought Helen there to sing the songs of home;
She whispered, “Friends, I am alone; come, come!”
Then, crouched within, Ulysses waxed afraid,
And on his comrades' quivering mouths he laid
His hands, and held them till the voice was dumb.
The same was he who, lashed to his own mast,
There where the sea-flowers screen the charnel-caves,
Beside the sirens' singing island pass'd,
Till sweetness failed along the inveterate waves. . . .
Say, soul,—are songs of Death no heaven to thee,
Nor shames her lip the cheek of Victory?
poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
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Songs of Praise the Angels Sang
Songs of praise the angels sang,
Heav’n with alleluias rang,
When creation was begun,
When God spoke and it was done.
Songs of praise awoke the morn
When the Prince of Peace was born;
Songs of praise arose when He
Captive led Captivity.
Heav’n and earth must pass away!
Songs of praise shall crown that day!
God will make new heav’ns and earth;
Songs of praise shall hail their birth.
And can man alone be dumb,
Till that glorious kingdom come?
No: the church delights to raise
Psalms, and hymns, and songs of praise.
Saints below, with heart and voice,
Still in songs of praise rejoice,
Learning here, by faith and love,
Songs of praise to sing above.
Borne upon their latest breath,
Songs of praise shall conquer death;
Then amidst eternal joy,
Songs of praise their powers employ.
Hymns of glory, songs of praise,
Father, unto Thee we raise;
Jesus, glory unto Thee,
With the Spirit, ever be.
poem by James Montgomery
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The Rower's Chant
ROW till the land dip 'neath
The sea from view.
Row till a land peep up,
A home for you.
Row till the mast sing songs
Welcome and sweet,
Row till the waves, outstripped,
Give up, dead beat.
Row till the sea-nymphs rise
To ask you why
Rowing you tarry not
To hear them sigh.
Row till the stars grow bright
Like certain eyes.
Row till the noon be high
As hopes you prize.
Row till you harbour in
All longing's port.
Row till you find all things
For which you sought.
poem by Thomas Sturge Moore
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Rowers Chant
Row till the land dip 'neath
The sea from view.
Row till a land peep up,
A home for you.
Row till the mast sing songs
Welcome and sweet.
Row till the waves, out-stripped,
Give up dead beat.
Row till the sea-nymphs rise
To ask you why
Rowing you tarry not
To hear them sigh.
Row till the stars grow bright
Like certain eyes.
Row till the noon be high
As hopes you prize.
Row till you harbour in
All longing's port.
Row till you find all things
For which you sought.
poem by Thomas Sturge Moore
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Land Ho!
Grandma loved a sailor who sailed the frozen sea.
Grandpa was that whaler and he took me on his knee.
He said son Im going crazy from living on the land
Got to find my shipmates and walk on foreign sand.
This old man was graceful with silver in his smile.
He smoked a briar pipe and he walked four country miles
Singing songs of shady sisters and old town liberty
Songs of love and songs of death, songs that set men free.
Ive got three ships and sixty men
A course for ports unread.
Ill stand at mast, let north winds blow
Till half of us are dead.
Land ho!
If I get my hands on a dollar bill
Gonna buy a bottle and drink my fill.
If I get my hands on a number five
Gonna skin that little girl alive.
If I get my hands on a number two
Come back home and marry you
Marry you, marry you.
Land ho!, land ho!
If I get back home and I feel all right
You dont baby gonna love you tonight
Land ho!
song performed by by Doors
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Love Sonnets Of Proteus. Part IV: Vita Nova: LXXXVIII
THE SAME CONTINUED
There were two with thee in thine agony,
I and another. In that hour supreme
We stood beside thy cross and gazed at thee,
Waiting till death should wake thee from thy dream.
Thy hands held both our hands and clung to them
And drew them to each other. We could see
Thy dumb lips open as to either name
And thy eyes turn to our eyes wistfully.
O eloquent eyes! Ye were not closed in vain.
Still from the grave ye speak, ``Behold a son,
Behold a mother.'' From that rite of pain
We two went home together bone of bone
And flesh of flesh, distinguished among men,
Thy witnesses till death shall come again.
poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
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A Bird and flower upon the tree
A bird and flower upon the tree,
Sweet peony and oriole,
Each of them a perfect soul,
Song and sweetness manifest
The bird and flower we love the best
Side by side on the tall tree.
'Flower who art sunlight and fire, flower who art perfume and joy,
Sweetest of sweet,
Ah for the gift withheld!
Ah for the given gift's alloy!
Why must thy spirit exhale only in beauty and breath?
Ah for the voice thou hast not! I by thy side on the tree,
Telling the world of love, pain, and all raptures that be,
Raptures of laughter and life, raptures of tears and death,
Singing my heart to heaven, singing to earth at my feet;
Silence in thee.'
'Bird who art dew-drops and flame, bird who art rapture and song,
Sweetest of sweet,
Lo there's a voice part mine, songs that to me too belong,
Songs that grew of my growth, voice that has breathed my breath.
Bird that while I sit mute singest beside on the tree,
Hast thou ever a song taking no perfume of me?
Give forth my sweetness in song; bird, thou art singing for both,
Singing our hearts to heaven, singing to earth at our feet;
My voice in thee.'
On the tree-top side by side,
Sweet oriole and peony;
Music rings through earth and sky,
Sweet and sweet in sweetness lost
The flower and bird we love the most,
On the tree-top side by side.
poem by Augusta Davies Webster
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From A Distance
From a distance, the world looks blue and green,
And the snow capped mountains so white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
And the eagle takes to flight.
From a distance, there is harmony
And it echoes through the land.
Its the voice of hope, its the voice of peace,
Its the voice of every man.
From a distance, we all have enough,
And no-one is in need.
There are no guns, no bombs and no disease
No hungry mouths to feed.
For a moment we must be instruments,
Martching in a common band,
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace,
Theyre is the songs of every one.
God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us, from a distance.
From a distance, you look like my friend,
Even though we are at war.
From a distance, I cant comprehend,
What all this war is for.
What we need is love and harmony,
Let it echo through the land.
Its the hope of hopes, its the love of loves,
Its the heart of everyone.
Its the hope of hopes, its the love of loves,
Its the song of everyone.
Sing out, songs of hope,
Sing out, songs of freedom,
Sing out, songs of love,
Sing out, songs of peace,
Sing out, songs of justice,
Sing out, songs of harmony,
Sing out, songs of love,
Sing out, everyone,
Sing out, songs of hope,
Sing out, songs of freedom,
Sing out, songs of love,
Sing out, songs of peace,
Sing out, songs of justice,
Sing out, songs in harmony,
Sing out, sing about love,
Sing out, everyone.
Sing out.
song performed by by Cliff Richard
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Irreparableness
I HAVE been in the meadows all the day
And gathered there the nosegay that you see
Singing within myself as bird or bee
When such do field-work on a morn of May.
But, now I look upon my flowers, decay
Has met them in my hands more fatally
Because more warmly clasped,--and sobs are free
To come instead of songs. What do you say,
Sweet counsellors, dear friends ? that I should go
Back straightway to the fields and gather more ?
Another, sooth, may do it, but not I !
My heart is very tired, my strength is low,
My hands are full of blossoms plucked before,
Held dead within them till myself shall die.
poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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We Are To Play The Game Of Death
WE are to play the game of death to-night, my bride and I.
The night is black, the clouds in the sky are capricious, and the waves are raving at sea.
We have left our bed of dreams, flung open the door and come out, my bride and I.
We sit upon a swing, and the storm winds give us a wild push from behind.
My bride starts up with fear and delight, she trembles and clings to my breast.
Long have I served her tenderly.
I made for her a bed of flowers and I closed the doors to shut out the rude light from her eyes.
I kissed her gently on her lips and whispered softly in her ears till she half swooned in languor.
She was lost in the endless mist of vague sweetness.
She answered not to my touch, my songs failed to arouse her.
To-night has come to us the call of the storm from the wild.
My bride has shivered and stood up, she has clasped my hand and come out.
Her hair is flying in the wind, her veil is fluttering, her garland rustles over her breast.
The push of death has swung her into life.
We are face to face and heart to heart, my bride and I.
poem by Rabindranath Tagore
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My Old Man
This song was first released on the rhymes and reasons album. it is the only album it has been released on.
(these words are incorrect at this time)
My old man had a round of soul
Hed hear an old freight train
Then hed have to go
Said hed been blessed with a gypsy bone
Thats the reason they guessed
Hed been cursed to roam
Came into town back before the war
Didnt even know what it
Was he was looking for
He carried a tattered bag for his violin
It was full of lots of songs
Of places he had been
He talked real easy
Had a smiling way to pass abn^. to you
When his fiddle played
Making people drop their cares and woes
To hum out loud those tunes
That his fiddle howed
Till the people there began to join that sound
And everyone in town was
Laughing, singing, dancing round
Like the fiddlers tune was
All the years that passed
That love would keep them warm
All their lives theyd share
A dream come true
All because she danced while his fiddle tuned
My old man had a round of soul
Hed hear an old freight train
Then hed have to go
All that I recall said when I was young
No one else could really
Sing those songs he sung
Words and music by walker
song performed by by John Denver
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Great Misgiving
'NOT ours,' say some, 'the thought of death to dread;
Asking no heaven, we fear no fabled hell:
Life is a feast, and we have banqueted--
Shall not the worms as well?
'The after-silence, when the feast is o'er,
And void the places where the minstrels stood,
Differs in nought from what hath been before,
And is nor ill nor good.'
Ah, but the Apparition--the dumb sign--
The beckoning finger bidding me forgo
The fellowship, the converse, and the wine,
The songs, the festal glow!
And ah, to know not, while with friends I sit,
And while the purple joy is pass'd about,
Whether 'tis ampler day divinelier lit
Or homeless night without;
And whether, stepping forth, my soul shall see
New prospects, or fall sheer--a blinded thing!
There is, O grave, thy hourly victory,
And there, O death, thy sting.
poem by William Watson
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The Poet To Death
TARRY a while, O Death, I cannot die
While yet my sweet life burgeons with its spring;
Fair is my youth, and rich the echoing boughs
Where dhadikulas sing.
Tarry a while, O Death, I cannot die
With all my blossoming hopes unharvested,
My joys ungarnered, all my songs unsung,
And all my tears unshed.
Tarry a while, till I am satisfied
Of love and grief, of earth and altering sky;
Till all my human hungers are fulfilled,
O Death, I cannot die!
poem by Sarojini Naidu
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Song Of The Voiceless
Born in the midst of pain
Raised in the depth of strain
I'm a dumb little man
my voice is not more that a blowing fan
I sing songs of anarchy and neglect
But my songs are the simplest to forget
I played a string for my vain
I performed in street insane
Every single day
I played a song my way
I have a sharp sweet little voice
But everyone sees it as disturbing noise
I'm a musician no i'm a poet
I've wrote and sing beautiful words I get
I often performed in a theater in my home
with masse of dirty cheering me alone
I tied my mega-phone to the leg of my audience
I held my gitter With a smile of glaring radiance
I performed for my fans with all my skill
They in turn glance with applaud for they do not feel
my songs is often seems pointless
For I sing with words that are voiceless
poem by Kemurl Fofanah
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Oh, My Darling Odessa!
OH, ODESSA!
Years fly and my love
Always stays in my heart,
Floats with me.
You invite as before,
You cosset even more
Odessa my home.
Anywhere I go I can hear your voice
Your waves ring like the bell
Your trees tales tell
Not in vain you call again
In my heart you will remain
In my heart you will remain.
Oh, Odessa my love, darling city, yes!
Without you I won't live really, I confess
And my soul won't be young
And I wouldn't sing the songs,
And I wouldn't sing the songs.
The Black Sea sings at night
Sweet dreams watch odessites
Seagulls and Sun.
Always young sings the songs,
Always bright brings along
Courage and fun.
Yes, Odessa my love, city jokes and joy
Without you I won't live and will be annoyed
And my soul won't be young
And I wouldn't sing the songs,
And I wouldn't sing the songs.
poem by Larisa Rzhepishevska
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The Poet To Be Yet
NOT he who sings smooth songs that soothe—
Sweet opiates that lull asleep
The sorrow that would only weep;
There are some spirit-stains so deep
That only tears may wash away.
Not he whose lays thrill fiercely till
The soul is sick with surfeiting,
Such passion flies, and leaves its sting,
Till through the body quivering
The wearied dull pain throbs again.
Not he whose glad voice says “Rejoice!”
For whom no clouds o'ercast the sky;
Whose god is in his heaven so high
That this dull world he come not nigh:
Life is no sun-kissed optimist!
But he who Sorrow's presence knows,
Who hears the minor chords beneath
The song of life, and feels the breath
Upon his cheek of quiet death,
Yet stirs and sings of life and love.
Who in his suffering yet can sing;
With that calm pathos in his face—
The hopeless yearning of the race—
Can chant the faith that holds its place,
Upsurging through each sore heart's speech;
Who, though his heart bleed, onward leads;
Who knows eternal is our quest,
Yet bids us toil and strive—not rest—
Who looks life o'er and takes its best—
This is the poet to be yet!
poem by Arthur Henry Adams
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Asia: From Prometheus Unbound
My soul is an enchanted boat,
Which, like a sleeping swan, doth float
Upon the silver waves of thy sweet singing;
And thine doth like an angel sit
Beside a helm conducting it,
Whilst all the winds with melody are ringing.
It seems to float ever, for ever,
Upon that many-winding river,
Between mountains, woods, abysses,
A paradise of wildernesses!
Till, like one in slumber bound,
Borne to the ocean, I float down, around,
Into a sea profound, of ever-spreading sound:
Meanwhile thy spirit lifts its pinions
In music's most serene dominions;
Catching the winds that fan that happy heaven.
And we sail on, away, afar,
Without a course, without a star,
But, by the instinct of sweet music driven;
Till through Elysian garden islets
By thee, most beautiful of pilots,
Where never mortal pinnace glided,
The boat of my desire is guided:
Realms where the air we breathe is love,
Which in the winds and on the waves doth move,
Harmonizing this earth with what we feel above.
We have past Age's icy caves,
And Manhood's dark and tossing waves,
And Youth's smooth ocean, smiling to betray:
Beyond the glassy gulfs we flee
Of shadow-peopled Infancy,
Through Death and Birth, to a diviner day;
A paradise of vaulted bowers,
Lit by downward-gazing flowers,
And watery paths that wind between
Wildernesses calm and green,
Peopled by shapes too bright to see,
And rest, having beheld; somewhat like thee;
Which walk upon the sea, and chant melodiously!
poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Emancipation Hymn
Praise we the Lord! let songs resound
To earth’s remotest shore!
Songs of thanksgiving, songs of praise —
For we are slaves no more.
Praise we the Lord! His power hath rent
The chains that held us long!
His voice is mighty, as of old,
And still His arm is strong.
Praise we the Lord! His wrath arose,
His arm our fetters broke;
The tyrant dropped the lash, and we
To liberty awoke!
Praise we the Lord! let ho’y songs
Rise from these happy isles! —
O! let us not unworthy prove,
On whom His bounty smiles.
And cease we not the fight of faith
Till all mankind be free;
Till mercy o’er the earth shall flow,
As waters o’er the sea.
Then shall indeed Messiah’s reign
Through nil the world extend;
Then swords to ploughshares shall be turned,
And Heaven with earth shall blend.
poem by Anonymous Americas
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Port Isaac's Fishermen's Friends
Ten Cornishmen, of a mature age
Stand together, taking centre stage.
Singing together, in close harmony,
They sing out shanties of the sea.
Their voices are lifted loud in song;
They sing out proud; they sing out strong.
Each of the men knows his part,
And sings it out from his heart.
These men, who appear very down to earth,
Sing about Cornwall: the place of their birth.
They are hoping to keep the old songs alive;
Hoping that, forever, the old songs survive.
Amongst the group, there is much respect;
A real sense of camaraderie, you can detect.
Each man appears casual and very laid back,
But, of enthusiasm, there certainly is no lack.
They perform a long line of catchy songs:
The audience all clap and they sing along.
Everybody smiles and taps their feet:
They tap their toes to the steady beat.
These worthy winners in the world of Folk,
All enjoy a cool pint and sharing a joke.
Whether it's sunshine or whether it's rain,
This band of men will still entertain.
They do not put on any airs and graces:
These talented Cornishmen with wizened faces.
Some men sing high, while others sing low;
Between them, they cook up a brilliant show.
They sing great songs for over an hour:
They sing with spirit; they sing with power.
To many people, they have brought cheer,
And will continue to do so for many a year.
poem by Angela Wybrow
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Honky Tonk Songs
Bartender wont you pour me a very strong drink
Just keep it coming till I dont have to think
And point out some cowboy that might want to dance
And make sure I get home if you see that I cant
You see I loved him, he left me for a girl half my age
I relate to each sad song that ole jukebox has played
I listen to haggard, ole hank, and george jones
But why dont more women sing honky tonk songs?
Chorus:
Why dont more women sing honky-tonk songs?
About the heartaches and the tough breaks
And the men thats done em wrong
There are others just like me that are hurtin to the bone
So why dont more women sing honky-tonk songs
Why dont more women sing honky tonk songs
Honky tonk angels are just queens without thrones
Judge not lest you be judged, who can cast the first stone
Why dont more women sing honky-tonk songs
Repeat 1st verse
(all you lonely women sing)
Why dont more women sing honky tonk songs
About the heartaches and the tough breaks
And all the men thats done us wrong
Theres a whole lotta women I know would sing along
So why dont more women sing honky tonk songs
Why dont more women sing honky tonk songs
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Songs About Love
Written by kim wilde
Well theyll tease you and theyll please you
Make you better when youre feeling bad
All hope is gone - singing
Songs about love
Theyll upset you and theyll get you
Slay your fantasy till you almost believe
Youre the only one - singing
(songs about love)
So dont believe theyre writing all those songs for you
Oh no cos you know theyre only lies youre listening to
Those songs about love
Its all over now and nothings right
Youre left crying every night
(it aint fair) oh no no
(it aint fair) singing all about love
Theyll deceive you, now theyll leave you
Leave you so confused dont you know youve been used
Now cant you see - singing
All about love
So dont believe theyre writing all those songs for you
Oh no cos you know theyre only lies youre listening to
Those songs about love
Its all over now and nothings right
Youre left crying every night
(it aint fair) oh no no
(it aint fair) so what youre gonna do about it
Dont you see its just not right
To keep your feelings out of sight
(feeling bad) oh no no
(feeling bad) singing songs about love
And if wed never meet again
(what would you do with your life)
Do you think we could be friends
(or would it hurt you hurt you)
Dont you see they got to you and me
With all their songs about love
Well you know now, better go now
Gonna mend your heart its a brand new start
Dont be afraid - singing
Songs about love
So dont believe theyre writing all those songs for you
Oh no cos you know theyre only lies youre listening to
Those songs about love
Ooh ooh ooh
Oh no no no no
Dont you see its just not right
To leave your feelings out of sight
Oh no no
Singing songs about love
(ad lib vocals)
song performed by by Kim Wilde
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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