Secular

Choral score

$1.60 per copy (you are buying a digital license)

Note:

This is a tricky subject matter for younger singers, one we don't see often in the choral world. But Joyce Sutphen's text is such a beautiful way to express the fleeting nature of everything in our world. I love helping young voices sing about these wise ideas.

- Timothy C. Takach, 2020

Text:

Even in my time kingdoms fell,
and islands disappeared beneath the waves,
borders opened, and walls came down.
There were so many countries I would never see.

And even in my time, one tree died
and another one grew tall. The sky opened
and then closed, very slowly. Letters turned
yellow, and curtains faded in the window.

Friends who were once so dark and handsome
grew old. Bones in their spines crumbled,
or tumors filled the soft place under their
ribs. Sometimes their hearts stopped beating.

Even in my time, there were gardens filled
with flowers that would only last the day.

- Joyce Sutphen