"The Song of Wandering Aengus" is a poem by Irish poet W. B. Yeats. It was first printed in 1897 in British magazine The Sketch under the title "A Mad Song." It was then published under its standard name in Yeats' 1899 anthology The Wind Among the Reeds. It is especially remembered for its two final lines: "The silver apples of the moon,/ The golden apples of the sun." The poem is told from the point of view of an old man who, at some point in his past, had a fantastical experience in which a silver trout fish he had caught and laid on the floor turned into a "glimmering girl" who called him by his name, then vanished; he became infatuated with her, and remains devoted to finding her again. In an 1899 letter to fellow poet Dora Sigerson, Yeats called "The Song of Wandering Aengus" "the kind of poem I like best myself—a ballad that gradually lifts... from circumstantial to purely lyrical writing."
Meaning and inspiration
Yeats later said that "the poem was suggested to me by a Greek folk song; but the folk belief of Greece is very like that of Ireland, and I certainly thought, when I wrote it, of Ireland, and of the spirits that are in Ireland." At least one scholar has pointed to the Greek folk song "The Fruit of the Apple Tree" as the likely source of Yeats' inspiration. That song was included in a volume of Greek poetry translated by Lucy Garnett, which Yeats had written a review of in 1896. It has been claimed that the poem's story is based on the Irish god Aengus, and specifically the story of the "Dream of Aengus", which had first appeared in the 8th century, in which Aengus falls in love with a woman whom he sees only in his dreams. The poem has also been compared to the aisling genre of Irish poetry, in which a magical woman appears who represents the country of Ireland.
Cultural references
Both "The silver apples of the moon" and "The golden apples of the sun" have inspired the names of various bands, albums, books and films. Parts of the poem have been recited in the 2002 episode "Rogue Planet" of the TV series , as well as in the 2015 episode "No Room at the Inn" of the TV series The Leftovers. In the 1995 movieThe Bridges of Madison County, when going for a walk after supper Robert Kincaid quotes the lines "The silver apples of the moon" and "The golden apples of the sun." Francesca Johnson replies, "Yeats." Clint Eastwood's character talks about the themes of the poem and references his own Irish heritage. Later that night, she is alone on the porch reading Yeats' book of poems. Inspired, Francesca writes a note and drives to post it on Roseman bridge for Robert to find the next day. The note asks him for supper and quotes another line, "While white moths are on the wing."
Musical adaptations
The most famous musical setting of the poem was by Travis Edmonson of the folk duo Bud & Travis. Edmonson titled the song "Golden Apples of the Sun", and it was released on the 1960 Bud & Travis album Naturally: Folk Songs for the Present. Their version has been covered, sometimes as "Golden Apples of the Sun" and sometimes as "The Song of Wandering Aengus", by artists including Judy Collins, Terry Callier, Dave Van Ronk, Christy Moore, Karan Casey, Paul Winter, 10,000 Maniacs and Tiny Ruins. British singer Donovan recorded his own musical setting of the poem on the 1971 children's albumHMS Donovan. British-Irish band The Waterboys recorded their own musical adaptation of "The Song of Wandering Aengus" on the 2011 Yeats-themed album An Appointment with Mr Yeats. It was also put to music by Benjamin Attahir.
