If I had but two little wings
And were a little feathery bird,
To you I'd fly, my dear!
But thoughts like these are idle things,
And I stay here.

But in my sleep to you I fly:
I'm always with you in my sleep!
The world is all one's own.
But then one wakes, and where am I?
All, all alone.

Sleep stays not, though a monarch bids:
So I love to wake ere break of day:
For though my sleep be gone,
Yet while 'tis dark, one shuts one's lids,
And still dreams on. 

About the headline (FAQ)

First published in The Annual Anthology, Volume II, 1800

Text Authorship:

• by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834), as Cordomi, "Something childish, but very natural" [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 Edgar Leslie Bainton (1880 - 1956), "If I had but two little wings", published 1928 [ men's chorus and piano ], partson [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Francis Barnett (1837 - 1916), "If I had but two little wings", published 1903, first performed 1878 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], madrigal [sung text not yet checked]
• by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "If I had but two little wings", published 1914 [ SA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Franklin Morris Class (1881 - 1926), "If I had but two little wings", published 1905 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Edward Francis Fitzwilliam (1824 - 1857), "If I had but two little wings", published 1856 [ alto and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by (Charles William) Eric Fogg (1903 - 1939), "If I had but two little wings", published 1928 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hubert James Foss (1899 - 1953), "If I had but two little wings", published 1937 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by J. Maynard Glover , "If I had but two little wings", published 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Fred Gostelow , "Dream thoughts", published 1900 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Louis Arthur Hamand , "If I had but two little wings", published 1912 [ men's chorus a cappella ], partson [sung text not yet checked]
• by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "If in my sleep to you I fly", 1899 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ellis Ingleby , "If I had but two little wings", published 1887 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by George Herbert Jones , "If I had but two little wings", published 1929 [ SS chorus and piano ], canon [sung text not yet checked]
• by Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "If I had but two little wings", <<1918, published 1921 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Richard Harvey Loehr (1856 - 1927), "A love dream", published 1882 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by George W. Marston (1840 - 1901), "If I had but two little wings", published 1868 [ voice and piano ], note: according to Gooch and Thatcher Musical Settings of British Romantic Literature, the text is incorrectly attributed on the score to P. B. Shelley [sung text not yet checked]
• by L. C. Maurer , "If I had but two little wings", published 1928 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hubert S. Middleton , "If I had but two little wings", published 1956 [ medium-high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "If I had but two little wings", published 1897 [ satb chorus and piano ], from Six Modern Lyrics, no. 3, partson [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Henry Perabeau , "If I had but two little wings", published 1867 [ soprano or tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Cyril Bradley Rootham (1875 - 1938), "If I had but two little wings", 1925 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Henry Thomas Smart (1813 - 1879), "If I had but two little wings", published 1879 [ SATB chorus and piano ], partson [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by August Todt.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-29
Line count: 15
Word count: 97