by Julian Sturgis (1848 - 1904)
Through the ivory gate
Language: English
I had a dream last night Dream of a friend that is dead He came with dawn's first light And stood beside my bed: And as he there did stand, With gesture fine and fair, He passed a wan white hand Over my tumbled hair, Saying: "No friendship dieth With death of any day, No true friendship lieth Cold with lifeless clay. "Though our boyhood's playtime, Be gone with summer's breath, No friendship fades with Maytime No friendship dies with death." Then answer had I made But that the rapture deep Did hold me, half afraid To mar that rose of sleep So with closed eyes I lay, Lord of the vision fair; And when 'twas perfect day Only the day was there.
Text Authorship:
- by Julian Sturgis (1848 - 1904) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Through the ivory gate", 1895, published 1895, from the collection English Lyrics, Third Set, no. 5. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 123