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The White Birds

from Carving Air by Wall Matthews

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Instrumental version of the song The White Birds, based on the poem by William Butler Yeats.

lyrics

The White Bird William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
I WOULD that we were, my beloved, white birds on the foam of the sea:
We tire of the flame of the meteor, before it can pass by and flee;
And the flame of the blue star of twilight, hung low on the rim of the sky,
Has awaked in our hearts, my beloved, a sadness that never may die.

A weariness comes from those dreamers, dew-dabbled, the lily and rose,
Ah, dream not of them, my beloved, the flame of the meteor that goes,
Or the flame of the blue star that lingers hung low in the fall of the dew:
For I would we were changed to white birds on the wandering foam—I and you.

I am haunted by numberless islands, and many a Danaan shore,
Where Time would surely forget us, and Sorrow come near us no more:
Soon far from the rose and the lily, the fret of the flames, would we be,
Were we only white birds, my beloved, buoyed out on the foam of the sea.

credits

from Carving Air, released June 17, 2022

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Wall Matthews Columbia, Maryland

Multi-instrumentalist Wall Matthews, was a founding member The Entourage Music & Theater Ensemble from 1973-1983. He has continued as a solo artist. Musician Magazine described his work: "On guitar a six string wonder, on piano a gifted miniaturist matching classical structure with a folkish sense of line." ... more

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