I wandered lonely as a cloud (Daffodils)

from Dogs and Daffodils by Samuel Hill

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Inspired by William Wordsworth's poem of the same name. I stumbled across this poem in a book of Wordsworth's collected works and felt compelled to make a piece of music with it, unaware that it was one of his most popular poems! It is of course the "inward eye" of the final stanza to which the poem arguably owes its success, as there the focus broadens out from the daffodils themselves, giving them a transcendent meaning in the speaker’s mind. (It's worth noting here that Wordsworth credited these "two best lines" to his wife Mary.)

As someone not blessed with that “inward eye”, there’s a special place in my heart for poetry which encapsulates the thoughts, feelings and sensations that transcend the raw visual data of an experience. When I’m too numb to appreciate the beauty around me, such words can help me delight in things I have not seen, and cannot imagine. More importantly, they can then carry my attention beyond the raw experiences, sights and sounds, and towards the nature of Joy itself.

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from Dogs and Daffodils, released February 19, 2022

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Samuel Hill Melbourne, Australia

Pianist-composer exploring beauty and the many (often surprising) places we encounter it.

Philippians 4:8

Based on Wurundjeri land, in Parkville, VIC.

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