This work is published by Grand Mesa Music Publishers.
This setting of The Lark in the Clear Air was written for the Mississippi State University Wind Ensemble and their conductor Elva Kaye Lance, for their May 2008 concert tour of Ireland and England. The melody is the traditional Irish folk tune “Caisleán U, Néill.” It was collected by Lady Ferguson in the west of Ireland, and appears in the book A Song For Ireland by Mary O’Hara. The associated lyrics are attributed to Sir Samuel Ferguson of Belfast, circa 1850.
The Lark in the Clear Air (Sir Samuel Ferguson)
Dear thoughts are in my mind
And my soul soars enchanted,
As I hear the sweet lark sing
In the clear air of the day.
For a tender beaming smile
To my hope has been granted,
And tomorrow she shall hear
All my fond heart would say.
I shall tell her all my love,
All my soul’s adoration,
And I think she will hear
And will not say me nay.
It is this that gives my soul
All its joyous elation,
As I hear the sweet lark sing
In the clear air of the day.