by Harry Arbuthnot Acworth (1849 - 1933)
The Death of Olaf
Language: English
King Olaf's dragons take the sea, The piping south-wind drives them fast, The shields dip deep upon the lee, The white sails strain on every mast. Leaping from wave to wave they round The cape that bars the stormy sound, And where the ocean opens wide They see far stretched on either side The Danish ships and Svithiod's ride; High on his deck King Olaf stands, The war-axe grasp'd in both his hands, With helm of gold and jerkin red, And fair curls blowing round his head, First of his fleet, he leads the van And seeks the battle, man to man. But seaward, landward, cape and bay Cast forth their foes on Norroway; Ten thousand shaven oar-blades sweep The bosom of the troubled deep; As crash the prows, ring bill and shield, And arm meets arm that will not yield; Still where the foemen thickest throng King Olaf's galley sweeps along, And still her lofty sides to scale Ply the fierce foemen oar and sail, And pour their heroes bright in mail, Woe, woe for Norroway! O'erwhelmed, her stout sea-dragons fly, Or, scatter'd, powerless, scarcely try To join once more the fray: 'Yet still, like sunbeam through a cloud, Glimmers the helm of Olaf proud, Faint and more faint to see: Around it close the dark'ning spears, It sinks, it sparkles, disappears, King Olaf, woe to thee! Thy latest fight is fought in vain, No more the axe of Olaf slain, No more the glittering crest, Shall victory pluck from ruin's verge, Or to the chase his spearmen urge; Above him rolls the sullen surge, That stormy heart has rest.
Authorship:
- by Harry Arbuthnot Acworth (1849 - 1933) [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 Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "The Death of Olaf", op. 30 no. 16, published 1896 [SATB chorus and orchestra], from King Olaf, no. 16. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Harold Ryan
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-03
Line count: 43
Word count: 271