Lyrks
Lyrks
Lyrks
Cover Art

The Darkling Thrush Lyrics by Lee Hoiby

0

I leaned upon a coppice gate
When frost was specter-gray
And winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires
The land's sharp features seemed to be
The Century's corpse outleant;
His crypt the cloudy canopy
The wind his death-lament
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervorless as I
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt and small
In blast-beruffled plume
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware
Credits
Lee Hoiby

Lee Hoiby

About “The Darkling Thrush” by Lee Hoiby

Read the complete lyrics to "The Darkling Thrush" by Lee Hoiby. 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 Pop.

"The Darkling Thrush" is performed by Lee Hoiby. 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 "The Darkling Thrush", explore more songs by Lee Hoiby 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 Lee Hoiby · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"The Darkling Thrush" is credited to Lee Hoiby. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

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

Visit the Lee Hoiby artist page at /artist/lee-hoiby for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.