In 1932, Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004), an American, wrote a short poem to comfort a friend.
Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.
Quote:
... the plight of a German Jewish woman, Margaret Schwarzkopf, who was staying with her and her husband, had inspired the poem. Margaret Schwarzkopf was concerned about her mother, who was ill in Germany, but she had been warned not to return home because of increasing unrest. When her mother died, the heartbroken young woman told Frye that she never had the chance to "stand by my mother's grave and shed a tear". Frye, according to Van Buren's research, found herself composing a piece of verse on a brown paper shopping bag. Later she said that the words "just came to her" and expressed what she felt about life and death.
Over the years, Mary Frye's words have inspired many creations.
Just recently, I came across a melody created by the Japanese composer Man Arai around 2006. This melody is very popular and has since been used by many.
1. Korean Lyrics (with English Subtitle Translation) The video clip below, is a South Korean translation and interpretation of Frye's poem set to Man Arai's melody. Performed by the South Korean lyric tenor, Im Hyeong-Ju, this version of the song was the memorial song for the 304 people who lost their lives in MV Sewul ferry tragedy in 2014.
From a lyric-writing perspective, what fascinates me most is comparing the two sets of lyrics and seeing how the two songs are structured. This allows me to ascertain how Frye's words were modified so that they could be massaged into really outstanding musical works in different languages and set against an existing melody.
I hope you find listening and watching these videos as instructive as I did.
1. The South Korean lyrics (translated into English)
Quote:
Please don't cry at my grave I am not there, I do not sleep Please don't cry for me I am a thousand winds I become a thousand winds that blow I am flying freely in the wide sky
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain in Autumn I am the diamond glint on snow in Winter I will wake you in the morning, becoming the lark I am the stars that shine at night I will defend you
You, standing in front of my grave Please stop your tears I am not there Please don't think I died I am a thousand winds I become a thousand winds that blow I am flying freely in the wide sky
I am a thousand winds I become a thousand winds that blow I am flying freely in the wide sky
I am flying freely in the wide sky
2. The English lyrics
Quote:
Please do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there, I do not sleep I am the sunlight on the ripened grain I am the gentle autumn rain
I am a thousand winds I am a thousand winds that blow I am the diamond glint on snow I am a thousand winds that blow
Please do not stand at my grave and cry I am not there, I did not die I am the swift rush of birds in flight I am the stars that shine at night
I am a thousand winds I am a thousand winds that blow I am the diamond glint on snow I am a thousand winds that blow
Please do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there, I do not sleep I am the sunlight on the ripened grain I am the gentle autumn rain
I am a thousand winds I am a thousand winds that blow I am the diamond glint on snow I am a thousand winds that blow
I am a thousand winds I am a thousand winds that blow I am the diamond glint on snow I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow I am a thousand winds that blow
I'm really glad that you found time to have listen.
I absolutely love Man Arai's melody and the way it carries me along and really tugs at my heart strings. Im Jeong-Ju has a truly spectacular voice and his ability to stir my feelings transcends any language barriers that exist between his words and my ears.
My favourite version is with the Korean lyrics. For me, it's like listening to opera in Italian. I do not need to understand the words to feel the emotions behind the music, the words and their performance.
If you're interested, another truly outstanding presentation is the one below. I haven't worked out why but I cannot listen to this version without tears forming in my eyes. The combination of strings, piano, English horn, and Park Eun-Tae's voice really gets to me. I'd love to be able to write and arrange something to this level of expertise. (I'd better keep on practising!)
Hi Noel. I see that this poem is in the public domain... I think I would also like to have a go at setting it to music so I’m not going to listen to these examples until I have... thanks for some Sunday morning inspiration... definitely something I felt like I need today.
That's a really poignant poem, and a beautiful song to boot. I'm really curious to see where you take it It's neat to me that something of that nature is public domain - I've never heard of it before.
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It's neat to me that something of that nature is public domain - I've never heard of it before.
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