by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
The sky is low, the clouds are mean
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE GER GER
The sky is low, the clouds are mean,
A travelling flake of snow
Across a barn or through a rut
Debates if it will go.
A narrow wind complains all day
How some one treated him;
Nature, like us, is sometimes caught
Without her diadem.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "The sky is low", from My Letter to the world, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Anthony Iannaccone (b. 1943), "The sky is low, the clouds are mean", published 1979 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Layton Kent (b. 1916), "The sky is low, the clouds are mean", published 1966 [ SSA chorus and piano ], from Autumn songs, no. 3, New York: Lawson-Gould [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le Ciel est bas -- les Nuages ont l'air méchants", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 45
Le Ciel est bas ‑‑ les Nuages ont l'air méchants
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Le Ciel est bas -- les Nuages ont l'air méchants.
Un Flocon de Neige qui Voyage
À travers une Grange ou une Ornière
Se demande s'il va partir --
Un Vent Borné se plaint tout le Jour
De ce que quelqu'un l'aurait maltraité
La Nature, comme Nous est parfois surprise
Sans son Diadème --
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2019 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2019-10-15
Line count: 8
Word count: 51