VOCES8 Texts and Translations
o clap your hands
O clap your hands together, all ye people:
O sing unto God with the voice of melody.
For the Lord is high, and to be feared:
he is the great King upon all the earth.
He shall subdue the people under us:
and the nations under our feet.
He shall choose out an heritage for us:
even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved.
God is gone up with a merry noise:
and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.
O sing praises, sing praises unto our God:
O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.
For God is the King of all the earth:
sing ye praises with understanding.
God reigneth over the heathen:
God sitteth upon his holy seat.
For God, which is very high exalted,
doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 47
all seems beautiful to me
From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of imaginary lines
Going where I list, my own master total and absolute.
Listening to others, considering well what they say,
Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,
gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself from the holds that would hold me.
I inhale great draughts of space.
The East and the West are mine, and the North and the South are mine.
I am larger, better than I thought,
I did not know I held so much goodness.
All seems beautiful to me,
I can repeat over and over to men and women
You have done such good to me, I would do the same to you,
I will recruit for myself and you as I go,
I will scatter myself among men and women as I go,
I will toss a new gladness and roughness among them,
Whoever denies me it shall not trouble me,
Whoever accepts me he or she shall be blessed and shall bless me.
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
give me your stars
Peace flows into me
As the tide to the pool by the shore;
It is mine forevermore,
It ebbs not back like the sea.
I am the pool of blue
That worships the vivid sky;
My hopes were heaven-high,
They are all fulfilled in you.
I am the pool of gold
When sunset burns and dies, –
You are my deepening skies,
Give me your stars to hold.
Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT
A buzzard took a monkey for a ride in the air
The monkey thought that everything was on the square
The buzzard tried to throw the monkey off his back
The monkey grabbed his neck and said, "Now listen, Jack..."
[Chorus]
Straighten up and fly right
Straighten up and stay right
Straighten up and fly right
Cool down, papa
Don't you blow your top
Ain't no use in diving
What's the use in jiving?
Straighten up and fly right
Cool down, papa
Don't you blow your top
The buzzard told the monkey you are choking me
Release your hold and I'll set you free
The monkey looked the buzzard right dead in the eye and said
"Your story's so touching, but it sounds just like a lie."
For your eyes only / You only live once
For your eyes only, can see me through the night
For your eyes only, I never need to hide
You can see so much in me, so much in me that's new
I never felt until I looked at you
For your eyes only, only for you
You'll see what no one else can see, and now I'm breaking free
For your eyes only, only for you
The love I know you need in me, the fantasy you've freed in me
Only for you, only for you
For your eyes only, the nights are never cold
You really know me, that's all I need to know
Maybe I'm an open book because I know you're mine
But you won't need to read between the lines
For your eyes only, only for you
You see what no one else can see, and now I'm breaking free
For your eyes only, only for you
The passions that collide in me, the wild abandoned side of me
Only for you, for your eyes only
You only live twice
Or so it seems
One life for yourself
And one for your dreams
You drift through the years
And life seems tame
'Til one dream appears
And Love is its name
And love is a stranger
Who'll beckon you on
Don't think of the danger
Or the stranger is gone
This dream is for you
So pay the price
Make one dream come true
You only live twice
Fever
Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night
Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
And you know I'm going to treat you right
You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night
Everybody's got the fever
That is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing
Fever started long ago
Nunc Dimittis
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Libera nos
Libera nos, salva nos, justifica nos, O beata Trinitas.
Free us, save us, defend us, O blessed Trinity.
Underneath the stars
Underneath the stars I'll meet you
Underneath the stars I'll greet you
And there beneath the stars I'll leave you
Before you go of your own free will
Go gently
Underneath the stars you met me
Underneath the stars you left me
I wonder if the stars regret me
At least you'll go of your own free will
Go gently
Here beneath the stars I'm landing
I'm here beneath the stars not ending
Why on earth am I pretending?
I'm here again, the stars befriending
They come and go of their own free will
Go gently
Go gently
Underneath the stars you met me
And underneath the stars you left me
I wonder if the stars regret me
I'm sure they'd like me if they only met me
They come and go of their own free will
Go gently
Go gently
Go gently
Danny boy
Oh Danny Boy, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer′s gone, and all the roses falling
'Tis you must go, and I must bide
But come ye back when summer′s in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I′ll be here in sunlight or in shadow
Oh Danny Boy, I love you so
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
Ye′ll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an Ave there for me
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be
For you will bend and tell me that you love me
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me
Liebe
Liebe rauscht der Silberbach,
Liebe lehrt ihn sanfter wallen,
Seele haucht sie in das Ach
Klagenreicher Nachtigallen -
Liebe Liebe lispelt nur
Auf der Laute der Natur
Weisheit mit dem Sonnenblick,
Große Göttin tritt zurück,
Weiche vor der Liebe.
Nie Erobrern, Fürsten nie
Beugtest du ein Sklavenknie,
Beug' es itzt der Liebe.
Love stirs the silver brook,
Love teaches it to flow more softly;
It breathes the soul into the cry
Of the rich laments of nightingales.
Love, it is love alone that whispers
In the sound of nature.
Wisdom with the glance of the sun,
Great goddess, step back
Out of the way of love!
Never to conquerors, never to princes
Should you bend a knee in slavery,
Bend it now to love!
Free as a bird
Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I'll fly
As a bird on wings
Whatever happened to
The life that we once knew?
Can we really live without each other?
Where did we lose the touch
That seemed to mean so much?
It always made me feel so
Free as a bird
Like the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I'll fly
As a bird on wings
Whatever happened to
The life that we once knew?
Always made me feel so free
Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
Free as a bird
Free as a bird
Free
The sound of silence
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence"
Cheek to Cheek
Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek
Yes heaven, I'm in heaven
And the cares that hung around me through the week
Seems to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek
Oh I love to climb a mountain
Reach the highest peak
But it doesn't thrill me half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
Oh I love to go out fishing
In a river or a creek
But I don't enjoy it half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek
Now Mamma Dance with me
I want my arms about you
That charms about you
Will carry me through...
April in Paris
April's in the air, but here in Paris
April wears a different gown.
You can see her waltzing down the street,
The tang of wine is in the air,
I'm drunk with all the happiness that spring can give
Never dreamed it could be so exciting to live
April in Paris,
Chestnuts in blossom,
Holiday tables under the trees.
April in Paris,
This is the feeling,
No one can ever reprise.
I never knew the charm of spring,
I never met it face to face,
I never knew my heart could sing,
Never missed a warm embrace.
New York, New York
Start spreading the news, you're leaving today,
I want to be a part of it, New York, New York
Your vagabond shoes, they are longing to stray
And step around the heart of it, New York, New York.
I wanna wake up in that city that doesn't sleep
And find your king of the hill, top of the heap
Your small town blues, they are melting away
I'm gonna make a brand-new start of it in old New York
You always make it there, you make it anywhere
It's up to you, New York, New York.