Stop All the Clocks by W.H. Auden. Mahler
Lindsay Duncan Lyrics

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Slow down and stop everything in its tracks, eliminate all distractions, and focus on mourning the loss of this person.

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Even the pets will sense the mournful atmosphere and be silenced by it.

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Even music must stop, and only the soft thud of a funeral march drum is permitted.

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Make way for the casket and let the mourners pay their respects.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message “He is Dead”.
Spread the news far and wide, even in the sky, that this person has passed.

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Even the birds must be dressed in mourning attire.

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
Even the police who direct traffic must pay their respects and wear black gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
This person was my everything, my entire world.

My working week and my Sunday rest,
Every moment of every day, this person was on my mind and in my heart.

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
This person was my constant companion in every aspect of my life.

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
I believed that the love we shared could never end, but now I know that it has.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Even the stars in the sky are not needed, extinguish them all.

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Even the moon and sun, the most powerful celestial bodies, are not necessary now.

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
Even the vast oceans and the forests must be removed, as they do not matter anymore.

For nothing now can ever come to any good.
Everything is now bleak and meaningless, and nothing good can ever come from it.