"Funeral Blues" is a poem first published in 1936 by W. H. Auden. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973 ˈwɪstən ˈhjuː ˈɔːdən who signed his works W
Titles and versions
The poem, commonly known by its opening words, "Stop all the clocks," exists in two very different versions: the original version in five stanzas, and the version in four stanzas from 1938 that became famous when it was recited in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British Romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell.
The original five-stanza version was a parody of a poem of mourning for a political leader written for the verse play The Ascent of F6, which Auden wrote with Christopher Isherwood in 1936. The Ascent of F6 A Tragedy in Two Acts, by W H Auden and Christopher Isherwood, was the second play in the Auden-Isherwood collaboration first published Christopher Isherwood ( August 26, 1904 &ndash January 4, 1986) was an Anglo-American Novelist. The original five-stanza version and the final four-stanza version have the same two first stanzas. The final three stanzas of the five-stanza version (in The Ascent of F6) are entirely different from the final two stanzas of the four-stanza version. The Ascent of F6 A Tragedy in Two Acts, by W H Auden and Christopher Isherwood, was the second play in the Auden-Isherwood collaboration first published
The final four-stanza version of the poem was written to be sung by the soprano Hedli Anderson, in a setting by Benjamin Britten. Antoinette Millicent Hedley Anderson (1907–1990 was an English Singer and Actor. Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor, In this form, Auden contributed it to an anthology The Year's Poetry, 1938, compiled by Denys Kilham Roberts and Geoffrey Grigson (London, 1938), and included it in his book Another Time as one of four poems headed "Four Cabaret Songs for Miss Hedli Anderson"; the poem itself was titled "Funeral Blues" in this edition. Another Time is a book of poems by W H Auden, published in 1940 Antoinette Millicent Hedley Anderson (1907–1990 was an English Singer and Actor. (Auden never gave the poem any other title. )
The text in the UK edition of Another Time has a misprint, showing "woods" for the correct reading "wood"; this error does not occur in any other edition. Another Time is a book of poems by W H Auden, published in 1940
In Auden's Collected Poetry (1945) the poem is poem XXX in the section "Songs and Other Musical Pieces". In his Collected Shorter Poems 1927-1957 (1966) the poem is poem IX in the section "Twelve Songs" in Part II, "1933-1938"; the same numbering appears in his posthumous Collected Poems (1976, 1991, 2007).
Appearances
- The poem was set to music by Benjamin Britten and later included in a collection of settings of Auden poems under the title Cabaret Songs. Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor,
- "Funeral Blues" was the poem read by Matthew (John Hannah) at the funeral of his partner Gareth (Simon Callow) in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. John David Hannah (born April 23 1962) is a Scottish Actor of Film and Television. Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE (born 15 June 1949) is an English stage, Film and Television Actor Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British Romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell.
- It is the English contribution to the statue commemorating the Heysel Stadium disaster (Belgium), where a retaining wall collapsed, and resulted in 39 deaths on May 29, 1985 when Liverpool FC (England) played Juventus FC (Italy) in the European Cup final (now Champions League). The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred owing to Football hooliganism in which a retaining wall of the Heysel Stadium in Brussels collapsed on May 29 Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England.
- "Funeral Blues" is the first song on the Munly album Galvanized Yankee (1999). Jay Munly (also credited as Munly and Munly Munly) is a Banjo player Guitarist, Singer, and Songwriter based in Denver
- Excerpts from "Funeral Blues" were used in the DJ Noize song "O. D. B. Tribute", from the CD "Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture".
- A modified line from this poem appeared in the 2007 video game, Portal. Portal is a Single-player first-person action / puzzle Video game developed by Valve Corporation.
- it is commonly used at funerals and celebrations of life.
External links
Scans from the British edition (1940) of Another Time:
- Title page
- Publishing history
- Part of contents
- "Funeral Blues" with typographical error "woods" for "wood"
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