by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)
The piper
Language: English
Again I hear you piping, for I know the tune so well, - You rouse the heart to wander and be free, Tho' where you learned your music, not the God of song can tell, For you pipe the open highway and the sea. O piper, lightly footing, lightly piping on your way, Tho' your music thrills and pierces far and near, I tell you you had better pipe to someone else to-day, For you cannot pipe my fancy from my dear. You sound the note of travel through the hamlet and the town; You would lure the holy angels from on high; And not a man can hear you, but he throws the hammer down And is off to see the countries ere he die. But now no more I wander, now unchanging here I stay; By my love, you find me safely sitting here: And pipe you ne'er so sweetly, till you pipe the hills away, You can never pipe my fancy from my dear.
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "The piper" [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 Felix Harold White (1884 - 1945), "The piper", published 1921. [voice and piano] [text not verified]
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 167