For this one -- which I call "Wonderful Rotation -- I based the song on TWO poems by Dickinson. In one, "Frequently the woods are pink," Dickinson suggests that time passes quickly. In the other, "This slow day moved along," she advocates the opposite.
Here are the two poems:
By Emily Dickinson: Frequently the woods are pink -- Frequently are brown. Frequently the hills undress Behind my native town. Oft a head is crested I was wont to see -- And as oft a cranny Where it used to be -- And the Earth -- they tell me -- On its Axis turned! Wonderful Rotation! By but twelve performed! | By Emily Dickinson: This slow Day moved along – I heard its axles go As if they could not hoist themselves They hated motion so– I told my soul to come – It was no use to wait – We went and played and came again And it was out of sight – |
As you can see, I took the title for the song from the eleventh line of the first poem, and I combined the two poems to create the lyrics as follows:
Frequently the woods are pink – Frequently they’re brown. Frequently the hills undress Behind my native town. And the Earth – they tell me – On its Axis turned! Wonderful rotation! Wonderful rotation! This slow Day moved along – I heard its axles go As if they could not hoist themselves They hated motion so – And the Earth – they tell me – On its Axis turned! Wonderful rotation! Wonderful rotation! I told my soul to come – It was no use to wait – We went and played and came again And it was out of sight – Frequently the woods are pink – Frequently they’re brown. Frequently the hills undress Behind my native town. And the Earth – they tell me – On its Axis turned! Wonderful rotation! Wonderful rotation – By twelve performed. Wonderful rotation – By twelve performed. |
Well, I finished the song, so the music is all posted below. I'll look it over one more time soon, and if I see any additional corrections that need to be made, I'll upload a corrected copy. Click the images to enlarge.