War Requiem Text (original) (raw)
Text of the War Requiem
[ Requiem Aeternam |Dies Irae |Offertorium |Sanctus |Agnus Dei |Libera me ]
Highlighted text contains a link to an AIFF sound clip.
For all the sound clips in one place, go to the Sound Clips page.
| I. Requiem aeternam | |
|---|---|
| Chorus Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine;et lux perpetua luceat eis. | ChorusLord, grant them eternal rest;and let the perpetual light shine apon them. |
| BoysTe decet hymnus, Deus in Sion:et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem;exaudi orationem meam,ad te omnis caro veniet. | BoysThou shalt have praise in Zion, of God:and homage shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem;hear my prayer,all flesh shall come before Thee. |
| ChorusRequiem aeternam dona eis, Domine;et lux perpetua luceat eis. | ChorusLord, grant them eternal rest;and let the perpetual light shine apon them. |
| Tenor What passing bells for these who die as cattle?Only the monstrous anger of the guns.Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattleCan patter out their hasty orisonsNo mockeries for them from prayers or bells,Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, --The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;And bugles calling for them from sad shires.What candles may be held to speed them at all?Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyesShall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds,And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds. | |
| ChorusKyrie eleisonChriste eleisonKyrie eleison | ChorusLord, have mercy apon themChrist, have mercy apon themLord, have mercy apon them |
| II. Dies irae | |
| Chorus Dies irae, dies illa,Solvet saeclum in favilla:Teste David cum Sibylla.Quantus tremor est futurus,Quando Judex est venturus,Cuncta stricte discussurus! Tuba mirum spargens sonumPer sepulchra regionumCoget omnes ante thronum.Mors stupebit et natura,Cum resurget creatura,Judicanti responsura. | ChorusThis day, this day of wrathShall consume the world in ashes,As foretold by David and Sibyl.What trembling there shall beWhen the judge shall comeTo weigh everything strictly.The trumpet, scattering its awful soundAcross the graves of all landsSummons all before the throne.Death and nature shall be stunnedWhen mankind arisesTo render account before the judge. |
| BaritoneBugles sang, saddening the evening air;And bugles answered, sorrowful to hear.Voices of boys were by the river-side.Sleep mothered them; and left the twilight sad.The shadow of the morrow weighed on men.Voices of old despondency resigned,Bowed by the shadow of the morrow, slept. | |
| SopranoLiber scriptus proferetur,In quo totum continetur,Unde mundus judicetur.Judex ergo cum sedebitQuidquid latet, apparebut:Nil inultum remanebit. | SopranoThe written book shall be broughtIn which all is containedWhereby the world shall be judged.When the judge takes his seatAll that is hidden shall appear:Nothing will remain unavenged. |
| ChorusQuid sum miser tunc dicturus?Quem patronem rogaturus,Cum vix justus sit securus? | ChorusWhat shall I, a wretch, say then?To which protector shall I appealWhen even the just man is barely safe? |
| Soprano and ChorusRex tremendae majestatis,Qui salvandos salvas gratis,Salva me, fons pietatis. | Soprano and ChorusKing of awful majesty,Who freely savest those worthy of salvation,Save me, fount of pity. |
| Tenor and BaritoneOut there, we've walked quite friendly up to Death:Sat down and eaten with him, cool and bland,-Pardoned his spilling mess-tins in our hand.We've sniffed the green thick odour of his breath,-Our eyes wept, but our courage didn't writhe.He's spat at us with bullets and he's coughedShrapnel. We chorused when he sang aloft;We whistled while he shaved us with his scythe.Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum.No soldier's paid to kick against his powers.We laughed, knowing that better men would come,And greater wars; when each proud fighter bragsHe wars on Death - for Life; not men - for flags. | |
| ChorusRecordare Jesu pie,Quod sum causa tuae viae:Ne me perdas illa die.Quarens me, sedisti lassus:Redemisti crucem passus:Tantus labor non sit cassus:Ingemisco, tamquam reus:Culpa rubet vultus meus:Supplicanti parce Deus.Qui Mariam absolvisti,Et latronem exaudisti,Mihi quoque spem dedisti.Inter oves locum praesta,Et ab haedis me sequestra,Statuens in parte dextra.Confutatis maledictis,Flammis acribus addictis,Voca me cum benedictis.Oro supplex et acclinisCor contritum quasi cinisGere curam mei finis. | ChorusRemember, gentle Jesus,That I am the reason for Thy time on earth,Do not cast me out on that day.Seeking me, Thou didst sink down wearily,Thou hast saved me by enduring the cross,Such travail must not be in vain.I groan, like the sinner that I am,Guilt reddens my face,Oh God spare the supplicant.Thou, who pardoned MaryAnd heeded the thief,Hast given me hope as well.Give me a place among the sheepAnd separate me from the goats,Let me stand at Thy right hand.When the damned are cast awayAnd consigned to the searing flames,Call me to be with the blessed.Bowed down in supplication I beg Thee,My heart as though ground to ashes:Help me in my last hour. |
| BaritoneBe slowly lifted up, thou long black arm,Great gun towering toward Heaven, about to curse;Reach at that arrogance which needs thy harm,And beat it down before its sins grow worse;But when thy spell be cast complete and whole,May God curse thee, and cut thee from our soul! | |
| ChorusDies irae, dies illa,Solvet saeclum in favilla:Teste David cum Sibylla.Quantus tremor est futurus,Quando Judex est venturus,Cuncta stricte discussurus! | ChorusThis day, this day of wrathShall consume the world in ashes,As foretold by David and Sibyl.What trembling there shall beWhen the judge shall comeTo weigh everything strictly. |
| Soprano and ChorusLacrimosa dies illa,Qua resurget ex favilla,Judicandus homo reus:Huic ergo parce Deus. | Soprano and ChorusOh this day full of tearsWhen from the ashes arisesGuilty man, to be judges:Oh Lord, have mercy upon him. |
| TenorMove him into the sun -Gently its touch awoke him once,At home, whispering of fields unsown.Always it woke him, even in France,Until this morning and this snow.If anything might rouse him nowThe kind old sun will know. | |
| Soprano and ChorusLacrimosa dies illa... | Soprano and ChorusOh this day full of tears... |
| TenorThink how it wakes the seeds -Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.Are limbs, so dear-acheived, are sides,Full-nerved - still warm - too hard to stir?Was it for this the clay grew tall? | |
| Soprano and Chorus...Qua resurget ex favilla... | Soprano and Chorus...When from the ashes arises... |
| TenorWas it for this the clay grew tall? | |
| Soprano and Chorus...Judicandus homo reus. | Soprano and Chorus...Guilty man, to be judged. |
| Tenor- O what made fatuous sunbeams toilTo break earth's sleep at all? | |
| ChorusPie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem.Amen. | ChorusGentle Lord Jesus, grant them rest.Amen. |
| III. Offertorium | |
| BoysDomine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,libera animas omnium fideliumdefunctorum de poenis inferni,et de profundo lacu:libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eastartarus, ne cadant in obscurum. | BoysLord Jesus Christ, King of glory,deliver the souls of the faithfuldeparted from the pains of hell,and the bottomless pit:deliver them from the jaw of the lion, lest hellengulf them, lest they be plunged into darkness. |
| ChorusSed signifer sanctus Michaelrepraesentet eas in lucem sanctam:Quam olim Abrahae promisisti,et semini ejus. | ChorusBut let the holy standard-bearer Michaellead them into the holy lightas Thou didst promise Abrahamand his seed. |
| Tenor and BaritoneSo Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,And took the fire with him, and a knife.And as they sojourned both of them together,Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,Behold the preparations, fire and iron,But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,And builded parapets and trenched there,And streched forth the knife to slay his son.When lo! and angel called him out of heaven,Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,Neither do anything to him. Behold,A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him. But the old man would not so,but slew his son, -And half the seed of Europe, one by one. | |
| BoysHostias et preced tibi Dominelaudis offerimus; tu suscipe proanimabus illis, quarum hodiememoriam facimus: fac eas, Domine,de morte transire ad vitam.Quam olim Abrahae promisistien semini ejus. | BoysLord, in praise we offer to Theesacrifices and prayers, do Thou receive themfor the souls of those whom we rememberthis day: Lord, make them passfrom death to life.As Thou didst promise Abrahamand his seed. |
| Chorus...Quam olim Abrahae promisistiet semini ejus. | Chorus...As Thou didst promise Abrahamand his seed. |
| IV. Sanctus | |
| Soprano and Chorus Sanctus, sanctus, sanctusDominus Deus Saboath.Pleni sunt ceoli et terra gloria tua,Hosanna in excelsis.Sanctus.Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.Hosanna in excelsis.Sanctus. | Soprano and ChorusHoly,holy,holyLord God of hosts.Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.Hosanna in the highest.Holy.Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord.Hosanna in the highest.Holy. |
| BaritoneAfter the blast of lighning from the East,The flourish of loud clouds, the Chariot Throne;After the drums of time have rolled and ceased,And by the bronze west long retreat is blown,Shall life renew these bodies? Of a truthAll death will He annul, all tears assuage? -Fill the void veins of Life again with youth,And wash, with an immortal water, Age?When I do ask white Age he saith not so:"My head hangs weighed with snow."And when I hearken to the Earth, she saith:"My fiery heart shrinks, aching. It is death.Mine ancient scars shalls not be glorified,Nor my titanic tears, the sea, be dried." | |
| V. Agnus Dei | |
| TenorOne ever hangs where shelled roads part.In this war He too lost a limb,But His disciples hide apart;And now the Soldiers bear with Him. | |
| ChorusAgnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,dona eis requiem. | ChorusLamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world,grant them rest. |
| TenorNear Golgatha strolls many a priest,And in their faces there is prideThat they were flesh-marked by the BeastBy whom the gentle Christ's denied. | |
| ChorusAgnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,dona eis requiem. | ChorusLamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world,grant them rest. |
| TenorThe scribes on all the people shoveand bawl allegiance to the state, | |
| ChorusAgnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi... | ChorusLamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world... |
| TenorBut they who love the greater loveLay down their life; they do not hate. | |
| Chorus...Dona eis requiem. | Chorus...Grant them rest. |
| TenorDona nobis pacem. | |
| VI. Libera me | |
| ChorusLibera me, Domine, de morte aeterna,in die illa tremenda:Quando coeli movendi sunt et terra:Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. | ChorusDeliver me, O Lord, from eternal deathin that awful daywhen the heavens and earth shall be shakenwhen Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. |
| Soprano and ChorusTremens factus sum ego, et timeodum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira.Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna.Quando coeli movendi sunt i terra. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatiset miseriae, dies magna et amara valde.Libera me, Domine. | Soprano and ChorusI am seized with fear and trembling,until the trial shall be at hand and the wrath to come.Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death.When the heavens and earth shall be shaken.That day, that day of wrath, of calamityand misery, a great day and exceeding bitter.Deliver me, O Lord. |
| TenorIt seems that out of battle I escapedDown some profound dull tunnel, long since scoopedThrough granites which titanic wars had groined.Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and staredWith piteous recognition in fixed eyes,Lifting distressful hands as if to bless.And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan."Strange friend," I said, "here is no cause to mourn." | |
| Baritone"None", said the other, "save the undone years,The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours,Was my life also; I went hunting wildAfter the wildest beauty in the world,For by my glee might many men have laughed,And of my weeping something had been left,Which must die now. I mean the truth untold,The pity of war, the pity war distilled.Now men will go content with what we spoiled.Or, discontent, boil boldly, and be spilled.They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress,None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.Miss we the march of this retreating worldInto vain citadels that are not walled.Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot-wheelsI would go up and wash them from sweet wells,Even from wells we sunk too deep for war,Even from the sweetest wells that ever were.I am the enemy you killed, my friend.I knew you in this dark; for so you frownedYesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.Let us sleep now..." | |
| Boys, then Chorus, then SopranoIn paridisum deducant te Angeli;in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres,et perducant te in civitatem sanctamJerusalem. Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat,et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternamhabeas requiem. | Boys, then Chorus, then SopranoInto Paradise may the Angels lead thee:at thy coming may the Martyrs receive thee,and bring thee into the holy cityJerusalem. May the Choir of Angels receive theeand with Lazarus, once poor,may thou have eternal rest. |
| BoysRequiem aeternam dona eis, Domine:et lux perpetua luceat eis. | BoysLord, grant them eternal rest,and let the perpetual light shine upon them. |
| ChorusIn paradisum deducant etc. | ChorusInto Paradise, etc. |
| SopranoChorus Angeloru, te suscipiat etc. | SopranoMay the Choir of Angels, etc. |
| Tenor and BaritoneLet us sleep now. | |
| ChorusRequiescant in pace. Amen. | ChorusLet them rest in peace. Amen. |
[ Main | Biography |War Requiem | Links | Bibliography | Index ]