To Build a Swing

Poet/Lyricist: 

Hafiz (14th c.), trans. Daniel Ladinsky

Daniel Ladinsky's ecstatic, light-filled, and at times irreverent renderings of the great Sufi poet Hafiz are a pure delight. "To Build a Swing" is to be sung with joy and abandon. The predominant 9/8 (3+2+2+2) has an off kilter "swing" that matches the playfulness of the text

Level: 

Advanced
Item Voicing/Instrumentation Duration Price Audio View Score Quantity
JS-023D
PDF download 		SATB, piano, violin 2:50 $2.00
JS-023 digital purchase only N/A https://joanszymko.com/sites/joanszymko.com/files/VMP023To%20Build%20a%20Swing.mp3
JS-023.1D
licensed PDF
violin part 		N/A

Publisher: 

Joan Szymko
Text

You carry

All the ingredients

To turn your life into a nightmare—

Don't mix them!

You have all the genius

to build a swing in your backyard

for God.

That sounds

Like a hell of a lot more fun.

Let's start laughing,

drawing blueprints,

Gathering our talented friends.

I will help you

With my divine

lyre and drum.

Hafiz

Will sing a thousand words

You can take into your hands,

Like golden saws,

Silver hammers,

Polished teakwood,

Strong silk rope.

You carry all the ingredients

To turn existence into joy,

Mix them,

mix

Them!

From the Penguin publication The Gift,Poems by Hafiz,copyright ©1999 Daniel Ladinsky and used with his permission.

itemtext: 

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