"A Song of Flight" is a song written by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1895, as his Op. 31, No. 2, with the words from a poem by Christina Rossetti. [1]
The song was first performed by the Irish baritone Harry Plunket Greene in St. James's Hall on 2 March 1900, together with After, Op. 31, No. 1. [1]
Lyrics
A SONG OF FLIGHT
- While we slumber and sleep
- The sun leaps up from the deep.
- Daylight born at the leap!
- Rapid, dominant, free,
- Athirst to bathe in the uttermost sea.
- While we linger at play,
- If the year would stand at May!
- Winds are up and away
- Over land, over sea,
- To their goal wherever their goal may be.
- It is time to arise
- To race for the promised prize,
- The Sun flies, the Wind flies.
- We are strong, we are free,
- And home lies beyond the stars and the sea.
References
- ^ a b Kennedy, Michael (1987). Portrait of Elgar (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 342. ISBN 0-19-284017-7.
- Banfield, Stephen, Sensibility and English Song: Critical studies of the early 20th century (Cambridge University Press, 1985) ISBN 0-521-37944-X
External links
- A Song of Flight: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
