The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #21439 Message #228799
Posted By: Malcolm Douglas
16-May-00 - 11:59 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: The Tryst
Subject: Lyr Add: THE TRYST (William Souter: 1898-1943)
Well... it took some searching! It turns out that it's a poem by William Souter (1898-1943) set to music by James MacMillan. I eventually found the text in an online article by Sheila Douglas, 20th Century Poets 1: Hugh MacDiarmid and William Souter; and here it is:
THE TRYST
(William Souter: 1898-1943)
Sae luely luely cam she in, And luely she lay doun I kent her be her caller lips And her breists sae sma and roon.
Aa thru the nicht we spak nae word Nor sindered bane frae bane Aa thru the nicht I heard her hert Gang soundin wi my ain.
It was boot the waukrife hour When cocks begin tae craw That she smool'd saftly thu the mirk Afore the day wud daw
Sae luely luely cam she in Sae luely was she gaen An wi her aa my simmer days Like they had never been.
Particularly poignant, as Souter suffered from spondylitis, and was bedridden from his early 30s.