by Anne Hunter (1742 - 1821)

Pleasing Pain
Language: English 
Our translations:  DUT FRE
Far from this throbbing bosom haste,
Ye doubts, ye fears, that lay it waste;
Dear anxious days of pleasing pain,
Fly never to return again.

But ah, return ye smiling hours,
By careless fancy cron'd with flow'rs;
Come, fairy joys and wishes gay,
And dance in sportive rounds away.

So shall the moments gaily glide
O'er various life's tumultuous tide,
Nor sad regrets disturb their course
To calm oblivion's peaceful source.

Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Zoete pijn", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Délicieuse peine", copyright © 2008, (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: 12
Word count: 71