Four Last Songs (Vaughan Williams) - IV. Hands, Eyes, and Heart

IV. Hands, Eyes, and Heart

"Hands, Eyes, and Heart: begins in C minor and ends in the relative major of E-flat major. The text is a list of commands. The speaker implores her hands to "give him all the measure of my love", her eyes to "be deep pools of truth", and her heart to "in his keeping, be at rest and live". Thus, the musical structure begins with a simple melody we can call A, then elaborates on it in the next command (A'), and next elaborates on the melody further (A''), and finally concludes on an E-flat major chord.