by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Dear Harp of my Country!
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
Dear Harp of my Country! in darkness I found thee, The cold chain of silence had hung o'er thee long; When proudly, my own Island Harp, I unbound thee And gave all thy chords to light, freedom and song! The warm lay of love and the light note of gladness Have waken'd thy fondest, thy liveliest thrill; But so oft hast thou echo'd the deep sigh of sadness, That e'en in thy mirth it will steal from thee still. Dear Harp of my Country! farewell to thy numbers This sweet wreath of song is the last we shall twine! Go, sleep with the sunshine of Fame on thy slumbers, Till touch'd by some hand less unworthy than mine; If the pulse of the patriot, soldier, or lover, Have throbb'd at our lay 'tis thy glory alone; I was but as the wind, passing heedlessly over, And all the wild sweetness I waked was thy own!
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Confirmed with Thomas Moore, A New Edition from the last London Edition, Boston: Lee and Shepard; New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, 1876.
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
Confirmed with Thomas Moore, A New Edition from the last London Edition, Boston: Lee and Shepard; New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, 1876.
Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Dear Harp of my Country", appears in Irish Melodies [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), "Dear Harp of my Country!" [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Chère Harpe de mon Pays", 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: 16
Word count: 155