by Henry Vaughan (1622 - 1695)
My soul, there is a country
Language: English
Our translations: FRE
My soul, there is a country [Afar]1 beyond the stars, Where stands a wingèd sentry All skilful in the wars: There, above noise and danger Sweet Peace sits [crown'd]2 with smiles And One, born in a manger Commands the beauteous files. He is thy gracious Friend And -- O my soul, awake! -- Did in pure love descend To die here for thy sake. If thou canst [get]3 but thither, There grows the [flower]4 of Peace, The Rose that cannot wither, Thy fortress and thy ease. Leave then thy foolish ranges, For none can thee secure But One who never changes, Thy God, thy life, thy cure.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Dyson, Parry: "Far"
2 Parry: "crowned"
3 Dyson: "go"
4 Parry: "flow'r"
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Vaughan (1622 - 1695), "Peace", first published 1650 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Jean Mary Anderson (b. 1939), "Peace", 1997, from Two Songs for Alto & Organ, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "Peace" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Olivier Greif (1950 - 2000), "Peace", op. 310 no. 9 (1995) [ voice and piano ], from Les chants de l'âme, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "My soul, there is a country", from Songs of Farewell, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Kees Schoonenbeek , "Peace", 1989, from Three wintersongs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "Peace", published 1899 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by George Dyson (1883 - 1964), "Come to me God ; but do not come", from Quo Vadis: a Cycle of Poems, no. 7
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Paix", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 105