Song of the Day - 29th June

Today's Song of the Day is a celebration of summer and of love.

Set to a poem by Robert Fuller Murray (1863–1893), A Summer Morning starts with the narrator celebrating the beauty of  the summer morning, declaring that the sun had never been so bright, the birdsong never so sweet, or the grass so green, and we learn that this particular summer day is so lovely because of the presence of his beloved.

Although born in the United States, Murray moved with his family at the age of six to Kelso, Scotland and from then on lived most of his life in the United Kingdom, most notably in St Andrews, Scotland. He attended grammar school in Ilminster and Crewkerne and in 1881 he entered the University of St Andrews. He wrote two books of poetry and was published occasionally in periodicals. He sadly died young, most likely from tuberculosis, "dying with his work scarcely begun"*.

This poem was published in the volume referenced below, which was published posthumously in 1894, the year after his death.

This song is being Beta tested by the Barisons Singers.

*Andrew Lang, Introduction to "Robert F. Murray: His Poems with a Memoir" (pub. 1894)

A Summer Morning

By Robert Fuller Murray

Never was sun so bright before,

No matin of the lark so sweet,

No grass so green beneath my feet,

Nor with such dewdrops jewelled o'er.

I stand with thee outside the door,

The air not yet is close with heat,

And far across the yellowing wheat

The waves are breaking on the shore.

A lovely day! Yet many such,

Each like to each, this month have passed,

And none did so supremely shine.

One thing they lacked: the perfect touch

Of thee--and thou art come at last,

And half this loveliness is thine.