by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
These are the days when Birds come back
Language: English
These are the days when Birds come back -- A very few -- a Bird or two -- To take a backward look. These are the days when skies resume The old -- old sophistries of June -- A blue and gold mistake. Oh fraud that cannot cheat the Bee -- Almost thy plausibility Induces my belief. Till ranks of seeds their witness bear -- And softly thro' the altered air Hurries a timid leaf. Oh Sacrament of summer days, Oh Last Communion in the Haze -- Permit a child to join. Thy sacred emblems to partake -- They consecrated bread to take And thine immortal wine!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, first published 1890 [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 Rudolf Escher (1912 - 1980), "These are the days when birds come back", 1955, published 1956 [ mixed chorus of 7-10 voices ], from Songs of Love and Eternity, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Ferris , "Indian summer", published 1979 [ SATB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ulysses Simpson Kay (1917 - 1995), "Indian summer", published 1964 [ SSA chorus and piano ], from Emily Dickinson Set [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Frederick McKay (1899 - 1970), "Indian summer", published 1967 [ SSA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Pasatieri (b. 1945), "These are the days", published 1977 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Perle (1915 - 2009), "These are the days when birds come back" [ voice and piano ], from Thirteen Dickinson Songs, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Daniel Rogers Pinkham (1923 - 2006), "These are the days when birds come back", published 1974 [ medium voice and electronic tape ], from Safe in their Alabaster Chambers [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ruth Schonthal (1924 - 2006), "These are the days", 1977, first performed 1978 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Songs of Love and Sorrow, no. 1, Furore Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
Set in a modified version by Richard Stöhr.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 98