by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Translation Singable translation by Sophie von Reinhardt, Gräfin
'Tis the last rose of summer
Language: English
'Tis the last rose of summer, Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions Are faded and gone; No flow'r of her kindred, No rosebud is nigh To reflect back her blushes, Or give sigh for sigh. I'll not leave thee, thou lone one, To pine on the stem; Since the lovely are sleeping, Go, sleep thou with them; Thus kindly I scatter Thy leaves o'er [thy bed, Where]1 thy mates of the garden Lie [scentless]2 and dead. So soon may I follow, When friendships decay, And from Love's shining circle The gems drop away! When true hearts lie wither'd. And fond ones are flown, Oh! who would inhabit This bleak world alone?
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Britten: "the bed/ Where"
2 Britten: "senseless"
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "'Tis the last rose of summer", appears in Irish Melodies, first published 1813 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The last rose of summer" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Friedrich (Adolf Ferdinand) von Flotow (1812 - 1883), "'Tis the last rose of summer" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolph Martin Foerster (1854 - 1927), "'Tis the last rose of summer", op. 64 (Garland of Songs), Heft 1 no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Lalli , "The last rose of summer" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Havelock Nelson (1917 - 1996), "The last rose of summer", published 1964 [ SSA chorus and piano ], London: Elkin [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Andrew Stevenson (1761 - 1833), "'Tis the last rose of summer" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Phyllis Margaret Duncan Tate (1911 - 1987), "The last rose of summer", published 1964 [ SATB chorus and piano ], London: Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Auguste Louis Charles de Messence, comte de La Garde-Chambonas (1783 - 1853?) [an adaptation] ; composed by Giulio Alary.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Sophie von Reinhardt, Gräfin ; composed by Emilie Zumsteeg.
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Karl Alfred Melin (1849 - 1919) ; composed by Frithiof Hertzman, Emil Sjögren.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Guy Tops) , "’t Is de laatste roos van de zomer", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "C'est la dernière rose de l'été", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 112
Die letzte Rose
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Es ist die letzte Rose, Die so einsam hier noch blüht, Und alle andern Rosen Sind lange schon verglüht; Ach, keine ihrer Schwestern, Kein Knöspchen mehr ist hier, Zu spiegeln ihr Erröten, Zu sterben noch mit ihr. Ich lasse nicht dich Eine So einsam hier vergehn, Die holden Schwestern schlafen, Du sollst zu ihnen geh'n. Sanft will ich deine Blätter Auf diesen Rasen streu'n, Der ohne Duft und Leben Schon birgt die Schwestern dein. O könnten wir so folgen, Wenn Freundschaft uns betrügt, Und an der Liebe Krone Der Strahlen Glanz versiegt! Denkt, treue Herzen, Erde Ist was wir liebten fern, Wer möchte einsam weilen Auf diesem falschen Stern?
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Sophie von Reinhardt, Gräfin [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "'Tis the last rose of summer", appears in Irish Melodies, first published 1813
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Emilie Zumsteeg (1796 - 1857), "Die letzte Rose", op. 5 (Sechs Lieder) no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 109