In "Piano" by D.H. Lawrence why does the speaker say "now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour"?

Question

Why does the speaker "weep like a child for the past"?

Answer 1

Piano

Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;

Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see

A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings

And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song

Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong

To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside

And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour

With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour

Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast

Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

It helps to post a link to the poem or include the words.

Sometimes you have to read between the lines and make an educated guess on older poetry. When the poet says "a mother" he really means "my mother." So while he is listening to this accomplished singer accompanied by piano, he is actually reminded of the times he sat under the piano while his own mother is singing and playing the piano. The majority of mothers do not sing like professional singers, but they often have a sweet, gentle quality that appeals to their own children or other children. The speaker in the poem notices the difference in that performing quality and states that the singer's style seems more "vain" as compared to his own mother's style. In other words, professional singers are often if not always singing for attention and praise, rather than just for the sake of music itself. A mother might be singing or playing piano just to help her child develop appreciation for the way music sounds, and not for any sort of applause. The speaker in the poem may even have lost his mother, as he weeps, or cries like a child for the past. That is not 100% definite, though. The speaker may just be having an emotional, sentimental moment. The older a person gets, the more he or she may miss things from their childhood. I know I have been looking for old children's books in the past year which I used to read. It is a natural thing for people to do when they grow up. It's part of what makes us human-to remember what has happened in our lives. Hope this helps.