J.Edgar Middleton Biography
Jesse Edgar Middleton was a Canadian poet and songwriter, best known for writing the English lyrics to the "Huron Carol."
Life
He was born in Pilkington, Ontario, the son of Margaret Agar and Rev. Eli Middleton, a Methodist minister. He attended Dutton High School and Strathroy Collegiate. He then taught school for three years, and then became a proofreader in Cleveland, Ohio for three years. In 1899 he married Bessie A. Jackson, who bore him one son. He became music critic for the Mail and Empire, and in 1904 joined The News, where he wrote a column, "On the Side." He led the choir at Centennial Methodist Church, and sang in Toronto's Mendelssohn Choir.
He translated the "Huron Carol" (originally written in the Wendot language by Jean de Brebeu circa 1643) in 1926.
I never saw the cliffs of snow,
The Channel billows tipped with cream,
The swirling tides which ebb and flow
About the Island of my dream.
...
Ghostly ships in a ghostly sea,–
Here's to Drake in the Spanish main!–
Hark to the turbines, running free,
Oil-cups full and the orders plain.
...
Six years of life in the reek of things
Where love is a fay unknown;
A wolfish boy on the crowded street
Who stoops for the cruel stone;
...
A pleasant river, clear and blue,
Went singing to the sea.
The sunbeam joined them hand in hand
To dance the melody.
...
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