In plain words
Music is something everyone in the world can understand, even without words.
Where these words come from
- 90% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
- Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea (1835), chapter on ancient Spanish ballads: 'Music is the universal language of mankind, — poetry their universal pastime and delight.' Short form is the standard excerpt.
- Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea
- 1835 · writing about Spain's traditional ballads and songs
More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
See allOh, fear not in a world like this, And thou shalt know erelong,— Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be strong.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowThe hooded clouds, like friars, Tell their beads in drops of rain.Henry Wadsworth LongfellowNo tears Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.Henry Wadsworth LongfellowFor Time will teach thee soon the truth, There are no birds in last year's nest!Henry Wadsworth LongfellowInto each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary.Henry Wadsworth LongfellowThe day is done, and the darkness Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward From an eagle in his flight.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowThe hooded clouds, like friars, Tell their beads in drops of rain.Henry Wadsworth LongfellowNo tears Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.Henry Wadsworth LongfellowFor Time will teach thee soon the truth, There are no birds in last year's nest!Henry Wadsworth LongfellowInto each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary.Henry Wadsworth LongfellowThe day is done, and the darkness Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward From an eagle in his flight.Henry Wadsworth LongfellowMore on music
Melody is the essence of music.
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMusic must never offend the ear, even in most horrendous situations, but must always be pleasing.Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMelody and harmony should be simply tools in the hands of the artist, with which he creates music.
Giuseppe VerdiWhere words fail, sounds can often speak.
Hans Christian AndersenRhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.
PlatoSometimes I am so full of music, and so overflowing with melody, that I find it simply impossible to write down anything.
Robert Schumann
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMusic must never offend the ear, even in most horrendous situations, but must always be pleasing.Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMelody and harmony should be simply tools in the hands of the artist, with which he creates music.Giuseppe VerdiWhere words fail, sounds can often speak.Hans Christian AndersenRhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.PlatoSometimes I am so full of music, and so overflowing with melody, that I find it simply impossible to write down anything.Robert Schumann