by Lewis Wallace (1827 - 1905)
The Lament
Language: English
I sigh as I sing for the story land Across the Syrian sea. The odorous winds from the musky sand Were breaths of life to me. They play with the plumes of the whisp'ring palm For me, alas, no more. No more does the Nile in the moonlit calm Moan past the Memphian shore. Nilus! thou God of my fainting soul, In dreams thou comest to me, And dreaming I play with the lotus bowl, And sing sad songs to thee, And hear from afar the Memnonian strain And calls from dear Simbel, And wake to a passion of grief and pain That e'er I said Farewell.
Authorship:
- by Lewis Wallace (1827 - 1905), Egyptian Song from Ben-Hur [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 George Whitefield Chadwick (1854 - 1931), "The Lament", 1887. [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 107