W. H. Auden's "O Tell Me the Truth About Love"
The Daily Poem
Goldberry Studios
4.6 • 729 Ratings
🗓️ 14 December 2023
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh." -Wystan Hugh Auden
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the Daily Poem, a podcast from Goldberry Studios. |
| 0:03.9 | I'm Sean Johnson, and today is Thursday, December 14th, 2023. |
| 0:10.3 | Today's poem is by W.H. Auden, and it's called, |
| 0:14.4 | Oh, Tell Me the Truth About Love. |
| 0:17.5 | I'll read it once, offer a few comments, and then read it one more time. |
| 0:21.6 | Oh, tell me the truth about love. |
| 0:25.6 | Some say loves a little boy, and some say it's a bird. |
| 0:31.6 | Some say it makes the world go round. |
| 0:34.6 | Some say that's absurd. |
| 0:36.6 | And when I asked the man next door, who looked as if he |
| 0:39.2 | knew, his wife got very cross indeed and said it wouldn't do. Does it look like a pair of pajamas, |
| 0:46.1 | or the ham in a temperance hotel? Or does its odor remind one of llamas, or has it a comforting |
| 0:51.8 | smell? Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is or soft as eider down fluff? |
| 0:57.3 | Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges? Or, oh, tell me the truth about love? Our history books |
| 1:04.8 | refer to it. In cryptic little notes, it's quite a common topic on the transatlantic boats. |
| 1:10.6 | I've found the subject |
| 1:12.1 | mention in accounts of suicides and even seen it scribbled on the backs of railway guides. |
| 1:19.0 | Does it howl like a hungry Alsat or boom like a military band? Could one give a first-rate |
| 1:24.8 | imitation on a saw or a Steinway Grand? |
| 1:28.7 | Is it singing at parties a riot? |
| 1:32.0 | Does it only like classical stuff? |
| 1:34.3 | Will it stop when one wants to be quiet? |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in -472 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Goldberry Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Goldberry Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.