“There Will Come Soft Rains” is an anti-war poem by the American poet Sara Teasdale (1884 – 1933). It was publicized in 1918 during World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic and describes a harmonious world without human beings. Although the poem was written over a hundred years ago it will continue to stay relevant as long as mankind engage in war.
For nature the outcome of war is irrelevant, in fact if it wouldn’t even notice if mankind disappeared altogether. Spring and her rejuvenating rain will come no matter what and the lives of the animals and plants will go on as usual. The frogs will sing in their pools, the swallows will fly and instead of fighting the robins will happily whistle their tunes on the wires. The power of the natural world will win over mankind’s destructive ways and peace shall come whether humans are still here or not. You can read a longer analysis of the poem at PoemAnalysis.com.
“There Will Come Soft Rains” is probably Teasdale’s most famous poem and has been set to music by other composers, this is my version. I had an idea for a melody and I happened to come across this poem and somehow they fitted together. The instruments in this song are a mix between software instruments and recorded tracks. For the percussion I recorded branches, sticks and stones in a forest.
The album art is an illustration of two flame-breasted robins by the British artist Elizabeth Gould (1804–1841).
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There will come soft rains
By Sara Teasdale
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
Sara Teasdale
Sara Teasdale (1884 – 1933) was an American lyric poet. Lyrical poetry is a form of poetry that expresses personal feelings or emotions, often from a first-person perspective and in a songlike manner.
Teasdale’s poems are is known for their accessible style, use of universal themes and beautiful imagery. Despite suffering from health issues and depression she released several poetry collections during her lifetime. Her book “Love Songs” was awarded with the 1918 Pulitzer prize.
