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Introduction Lyrics by Edgar Allan Poe

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Romance, who loves to nod and sing,
With drowsy head and folded wing,
Among the green leaves as they shake
Far down within some shadowy lake,
To me a painted paroquet
Hath been — a most familiar bird —
Taught me my alphabet to say —
To lisp my very earliest word
While in the wild-wood I did lie
A child — with a most knowing eye.

Succeeding years, too wild for song,
Then roll’d like tropic storms along,
Where, tho’ the garish lights that fly
Dying along the troubled sky,
Lay bare, thro’ vistas thunder-riven,
The blackness of the general Heaven,
That very blackness yet doth fling
Light on the lightning’s silver wing.

For, being an idle boy lang syne,
Who read Anacreon, and drank wine,
I early found Anacreon rhymes
Were almost passionate sometimes —
And by strange alchemy of brain
His pleasures always turn’d to pain —
His naivete to wild desire —
His wit to love — his wine to fire —

And so, being young and dipt in folly
I fell in love with melancholy,
And used to throw my earthly rest
And quiet all away in jest —
I could not love except where Death
Was mingling his with Beauty’s breath —
Or Hymen, Time, and Destiny
Were stalking between her and me.

O, then the eternal Condor years
So shook the very Heavens on high,
With tumult as they thunder’d by;
I had no time for idle cares,
Thro’ gazing on the unquiet sky!
Or if an hour with calmer wing
Its down did on my spirit fling,
That little hour with lyre and rhyme
To while away — forbidden thing!
My heart half fear’d to be a crime
Unless it trembled with the string.

But now my soul hath too much room —
Gone are the glory and the gloom —
The black hath mellow’d into grey,
And all the fires are fading away.

My draught of passion hath been deep —
I revell’d, and I now would sleep —
And after-drunkenness of soul
Succeeds the glories of the bowl —
An idle longing night and day
To dream my very life away.

But dreams — of those who dream as I,
Aspiringly, are damned, and die:
Yet should I swear I mean alone,
By notes so very shrilly blown,
To break upon Time’s monotone,
While yet my vapid joy and grief
Are tintless of the yellow leaf —
Why not an imp the greybeard hath,
Will shake his shadow in my path —
And even the greybeard will o’erlook
Connivingly my dreaming-book.
Credits
Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

About “Introduction” by Edgar Allan Poe

Read the complete lyrics to "Introduction" by Edgar Allan Poe. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music.

"Introduction" is performed by Edgar Allan Poe. This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Introduction", explore more songs by Edgar Allan Poe using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

View all songs and biography for Edgar Allan Poe · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"Introduction" is credited to Edgar Allan Poe. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

Album information for "Introduction" is not available in our database yet. You can still read the full lyrics on this page.

Visit the Edgar Allan Poe artist page at /artist/edgar-allan-poe for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.

Alone
A Pæan
A Dream
“A Dream Within A Dream” etc
A Valentine
A Descent Into the Maelström
A Dream Within A Dream
Al Aaraaf
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