by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
Ballad
Language: English
I know my love is true, And oh the day is fair. The sky is clear and blue, The flowers are rich of hue, The air I breathe is rare, I have no grief or care; For my own love is true, And oh 'the day is fair. My love is false I find, And oh the day is dark. Blows sadly down the wind, While sorrow holds my mind; I do not hear the lark, For quenched is life's dear spark, -- My love is false I find, And oh the day is dark! For love doth make the day Or dark or doubly bright; Her beams along the way Dispel the gloom and gray. She lives and all is bright, She dies and life is night. For love doth make the day, Or dark or doubly bright.
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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "Ballad", from Majors and Minors, first published 1895 [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 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "Ballad", op. 17 (African Romances) no. 5, published 1897 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-27
Line count: 24
Word count: 138