by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)
Life may change, but it may fly not
Language: English
Life may change, but it may fly not; Hope may vanish, but can die not; Truth be veiled, but still it burneth; Love repulsed, - but it returneth! Yet were life a charnel, where Hope lay coffined with Despair; Yet were Truth a sacred lie, Love were lust -- If Liberty Lent not life its soul of light, Hope its iris of delight, Truth its prophet's robe to wear, Love its power to give and bear.
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Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), no title, appears in Hellas [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 Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "A song of liberty" [unison chorus and orchestra (or piano)], from Six choral songs to be sung in time of war, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2005-12-31
Line count: 13
Word count: 75