This dárksome búrn, hórseback brówn, His rollrock highroad roaring down, In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam Flutes and low to the lake falls home.
A wíndpuff-bónnet of fáwn-fróth
Turns and twindles over the broth Of a póol so pítchblack, féll-frówning, It rounds and rounds Despair to drowning.
Degged with dew, dappled with dew Are the groins of the braes that the brook treads through, Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern, And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn.
What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left, O let them be left, wildness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
Hopkins wrote “Inversnaid” (pronounced “inver snade”) after a visit to Loch Lomond. In his journal he commented that “the day was dark and partly hid the lake, but it did not altogether disfigure it but gave a pensive and solemn beauty which left a deep impression on me. I landed at Inversnaid for a few hours….” One may assume that he began composing his poem in Inversnaid, a village on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, famous for its waterfalls that pour into the lake. (“Inversnaid” is a shortened form of the Scottish Gaelic “Inbhir Snáthaid” which means “the mouth of the needle stream.”)
This poem has gained Hopkins many fans from the ranks of environmentalists. The Industrial Revolution had already wrought considerable environmental degradation by Hopkins’ lifetime. In fact, his early death is considered to have been caused in part by the terrible air quality Dublin, his final post. (Hopkins was a Jesuit, and subject to the orders of his superiors in terms of employment.) Water pollution was also a huge problem, and many natural waterways had been altered for the purposes of powering mills, with whatever scarring of the landscape and felling of trees such projects would have necessitated. One hears the cry from the heart of a sincere lover of nature in the poem’s final lines:
O let them be left, wildness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
Learning of Hopkins’ solemn mood after visiting Loch Lomond, I was surprised at the poem’s complete lack of stillness and quietude. Perhaps the lake itself inspired him in the first place, but his immediate stimulus once he got down to writing was the falls of Inversnaid. Whatever the case, the poem is sprightly, even elfin, and this mood is reflected in the woodwind esque opening theme. The phrases move continuously downward, suggestive of water in a many layered waterfall. Harmonically, flattened sevenths and sixths and later, flattened seconds and fifths contribute toward a whole tone sense of mystery and unresolved questions. Nature is wild, not tamed. In the second stanza, a new theme is introduced, suggestive of the foam that floats on the water, the basses echo the theme in lower octaves, adding a dark, even sinister, quality to the proceedings. After a third stanza of sheer wordplay, the final stanza marks a return to the opening theme. Hopkins’ heartfelt cry “long live the weeds and the wilderness” is raised repeatedly in a short coda.
Allegretto, sempre leggiero
= 84
(Altos tacet)
This
mp rollrock-highroad- rolling-
His
p dárksome-búrn, hórseback-brown, This
(Basses tacet)
(Altos tacet)
pp
pp dárksome-búrn,
pp
(Basses tacet)
p dárksome-búrn,hórseback-brown,
This
pp
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mp rollrock-highroad-rolling-
pp high
(falsetto) road
www.ShawnKirchner.com
down, the
mp fleeceoffoam
...roll
mp ing- down, in
mp coopandincombthe roll
p ing- down, in
pp comb, down, In
mp coopandcombthe in
p coop,incomb
...roll
mp ing- down, In
p coop,incoopandincombthefleeceofhisfoam roll
p ing- down, in
p coopandcombthefleeceoffoam in
pp coop,
flutes andlowtothelakefallshome.
fleeceofhisfoamflutes andlowtothelakefallshome.
This
pp dárksome-búrn, hórsefleeceoffoamflutes,fallshome.
This
pp dárksomeflutes, fallshome. flutes andlowtothelakefallshome.
flutes andlowtothelakefallshome.
pp
oo
pp dárksome-búrn,hórseflutes,fallshome.
This
This
pp dárksome- búrn,
thefleeceoffoam
flutes andlowtothelakefallshome.
pp
incoopandincombthefleeceofhisfoamflutes andlowtothelakefalls,home. low
in
p coopandcombthefleeceoffoamflutes, fallshome,
p comb, low fallshome.
in
flutesand lowtothelakefallshome.
fleeceofhisfoam
flutes andlowtothelakefalls,low
pp t'thelake,
fleeceoffoamflutes,fallshome,
pp falls flutes, fallshome.
turnsandtwindles-over-thebróth
low t'thelake, low t'thelake, low t'thelake, low falls home, low A
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falls home, low falls home,
windpuff-bonnet-offáwnfróth turnsandtwindles-over-the
home,
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t'thelake,
withdew,dappledwithdew,groinsofthebraesthebrooktreads
Deggedwithdew, dappled-withdew(arethe)groinsofthebraesthatthebrooktreadsthrough,
withdew, dappled-withdew groinsofthebraesthebrooktreadsthrough,
rall.
thatsitso'ertheburn.
through,wiry-heathpacks,-flitches-offern,theash thatsitso'ertheburn.
wiry-heathpacks,-
wiry-heathpacks,-
wiry-heathpacks,-
mp reft,-bereft-ofwet,be
p leggiero
What
p leggiero
Whatwouldtheworld
leggiero
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reft-ofwildness?-
mp reft-ofwet,be
cresc. reft-ofwildness?-
mp
Let
O mp let letthem
them be,
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mf thembeleft, wild
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wild
f ness- andwet, wild
f ness,- wet, wild
f ness,- wet,
f ness- andwet, wild
live theweeds,longlivethewil- derness- yet.
livetheweeds,longlivethewilder-ness,-longlivethewilder-ness- yet.
long livethewil der- ness- yet.
long livethewil der- ness- yet.
live theweeds,longlivethewilder- ness- yet.
livetheweeds,longlivethewilder-ness,-longlivethewilder-ness- yet.
long livethewil der- ness- yet.
mf long livethewil der- ness- yet.