Benjamin Britten - War Requiem: xii. Dies Irae - Dies irae lyrics

Chorus: Dies irae, dies illa Solvet saeclum in favilla: Teste David cum Sibylla Quantus tremor est futurus Quando Judex est venturus Cuncta stricte discussurus! Tuba mirum spargens sonum Per sepulchra regionum Coget omnes ante thronum Mors stupebit et natura Cum resurget creatura Judicanti responsura Baritone: Bugles sang, saddening the evening air; And bugles answered, sorrowful to hear Voices of boys were by the river-side Sleep mothered them; and left the twilight sad The shadow of the morrow weighed on men Voices of old despondency resigned Bowed by the shadow of the morrow, slept Soprano: Liber scriptus proferetur In quo totum continetur Unde mundus judicetur Judex ergo cum sedebit Quidquid latet, apparebut: Nil inultum remanebit Chorus: Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Quem patronem rogaturus Cum vix justus sit securus? Soprano and Chorus: Rex tremendae majestatis Qui salvandos salvas gratis Salva me, fons pietatis Tenor and Baritone: Out there, we've walked quite friendly up to d**h: Sat down and eaten with him, cool and bland,- Pardoned his spilling mess-tins in our hand We've sniffed the green thick odour of his breath,- Our eyes wept, but our courage didn't writhe He's spat at us with bullets and he's coughed Shrapnel. We chorused when he sang aloft; We whistled while he shaved us with his scythe Oh, d**h was never enemy of ours! We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum No soldier's paid to kick against his powers We laughed, knowing that better men would come And greater wars; when each proud fighter brags He wars on d**h - for Life; not men - for flags Chorus: Recordare Jesu pie Quod sum causa tuae viae: Ne me perdas illa die Quarens me, sedisti la**us: Redemisti crucem pa**us: Tantus labor non sit ca**us: Ingemisco, tamquam reus: Culpa rubet vultus meus: Supplicanti parce Deus Qui Mariam absolvisti Et latronem exaudisti Mihi quoque spem dedisti Inter oves locum praesta Et ab haedis me sequestra Statuens in parte dextra Confutatis maledictis Flammis acribus addictis Voca me cum benedictis Oro supplex et acclinis Cor contritum quasi cinis Gere curam mei finis Baritone: Be slowly lifted up, thou long black arm Great gun towering toward Heaven, about to curse; Reach at that arrogance which needs thy harm And beat it down before its sins grow worse; But when thy spell be cast complete and whole May God curse thee, and cut thee from our soul! Chorus: Dies irae, dies illa Solvet saeclum in favilla: Teste David cum Sibylla Quantus tremor est futurus Quando Judex est venturus Cuncta stricte discussurus! Soprano and Chorus: Lacrimosa dies illa Qua resurget ex favilla Judicandus h*mo reus: Huic ergo parce Deus Tenor: Move him into the sun - Gently its touch awoke him once At home, whispering of fields unsown Always it woke him, even in France Until this morning and this snow If anything might rouse him now The kind old sun will know Soprano and Chorus: Lacrimosa dies illa... Tenor: Think how it wakes the seeds - Woke, once, the clays of a cold star Are limbs, so dear-acheived, are sides Full-nerved - still warm - too hard to stir? Was it for this the clay grew tall? Soprano and Chorus: ...Qua resurget ex favilla... Tenor: Was it for this the clay grew tall? Soprano and Chorus: ...Judicandus h*mo reus Tenor: - O what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break earth's sleep at all? Chorus: Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem Amen