by Joseph Campbell (1881 - 1944)
I am the gilly of Christ
Language: English
I am the gilly of Christ, The mate of Mary's Son ; I run the roads at seeding-time, And when the harvest 's done. I sleep among the hills, The heather is my bed ; I dip the termon-well for drink, And pull the sloe for bread. No eye has ever seen me, But shepherds hear me pass, Singing at fall of even Along the shadowed grass. The beetle is my bellman, The meadow-fire my guide, The bee and bat my ambling nags When 1 have need to ride. All know me only the Stranger, Who sits on the Saxons' Height : He burned the bacach's little house On last St. Brigid's Night. He sups off silver dishes, And drinks in a golden horn, But he will wake a wiser man Upon the Judgment Morn ! I am the gilly of Christ, The mate of Mary's Son ; I run the roads at seeding-time, And when the harvest 's done. The seed I sow is lucky, The corn I reap is red, And whoso sings the ' Gilly's Ranu ' Will never cry for bread.
Authorship:
- by Joseph Campbell (1881 - 1944), "I am the gilly of Christ", appears in The Gilly of Christ, first published 1907 [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 Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "I am the gilly of Christ", op. 49 no. 2 (1922) [ voice and piano ], from Thirteen Songs: The Gilly of Christ, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "I am the gilly of Christ" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-04
Line count: 32
Word count: 185