September 1913
William Butler Yeats
Track 4 on Responsibilities (1914)–
1 viewer
September 1913 Lyrics
What need you, being come to sense,
But fumble in a greasy till
And add the halfpence to the pence
And prayer to shivering prayer, until
You have dried the marrow from the bone;
For men were born to pray and save:
Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,
It's with O'Leary in the grave.
Yet they were of a different kind
The names that stilled your childish play,
They have gone about the world like wind,
But little time had they to pray
For whom the hangman's rope was spun,
And what, God help us, could they save:
Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,
It's with O'Leary in the grave.
Was it for this the wild geese spread
The grey wing upon every tide;
For this that all that blood was shed,
For this Edward Fitzgerald died,
And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone,
All that delirium of the brave;
Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,
It's with O'Leary in the grave.
But fumble in a greasy till
And add the halfpence to the pence
And prayer to shivering prayer, until
You have dried the marrow from the bone;
For men were born to pray and save:
Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,
It's with O'Leary in the grave.
Yet they were of a different kind
The names that stilled your childish play,
They have gone about the world like wind,
But little time had they to pray
For whom the hangman's rope was spun,
And what, God help us, could they save:
Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,
It's with O'Leary in the grave.
Was it for this the wild geese spread
The grey wing upon every tide;
For this that all that blood was shed,
For this Edward Fitzgerald died,
And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone,
All that delirium of the brave;
Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,
It's with O'Leary in the grave.
About
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Genius Annotation
“September 1913” was written in response to the decision from the Irish government and public to refuse to build an art gallery showcasing Hugh Lane’s collection of paintings. It was felt that the country had bigger economic problems to face and the construction of an art gallery would only add to these problems. Yeats scorns the lack of appreciation for art in Irish society at the time and laments how it was being replaced by materialism. Yeats questions whether this Irish society has the capacity to produce great men such as John O'Leary, Robert Emmet, Wolfe Tone, etc. who came before.
Q&A
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- 4.September 1913
- 6.Paudeen
- 7.To a Shade
- 16.The Realists
- 17.I The Witch
- 18.II The Peacock
- 21.Two Year Later
- 23.Fallen Majesty
- 24.Friends
- 26.The Cold Heaven
- 28.An Appointment
- 30.The Dolls
- 31.A Coat
- 32.Closing Rhymes
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