by Francis Thompson (1859 - 1907)
Go, songs, for ended is our brief, sweet...
Language: English
Go, songs, for ended is our brief, sweet play; Go, children of swift joy and tardy sorrow: And some are sung, and that was yesterday, And some [are]1 unsung, and that may be tomorrow. Go forth; and if it be o'er stony way, Old joy can lend what newer grief must borrow: And it was sweet, and that was yesterday, And sweet is sweet, though purchased with sorrow. Go, songs, and come not back from your far way: And if men ask you why ye smile and sorrow, Tell them ye grieve, for your hearts know Today, Tell them ye smile, for your eyes know Tomorrow.
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View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Raynor.
Text Authorship:
- by Francis Thompson (1859 - 1907) [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 John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Envoy", 1972 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "Envoy", published 1944 [ high voice or medium voice and piano ], from Nine English Songs, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Go, Songs", op. 395 (1953), published 1971 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 106