by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
The sigh
Language: English
Little head against my shoulder, Shy at first, then somewhat bolder, And up eyed; Till she, with a timid quaver, Yielded to the kiss I gave her; But, she sighed. That there mingled with her feeling Some sad thought she was concealing It implied. - Not that she had ceased to love me, None on earth she set above me; But she sighed. She could not disguise a passion, Dread, or doubt, in weakest fashion If she tried: Nothing seemed to hold us sundered, Hearts were victors; so I wondered Why she sighed. Afterwards I knew her thoroughly, And she loved me staunchly, truly, Till she died; But she never made confession Why, at that first sweet concession, She had sighed. It was in our May, remember; And though now I near November And abide Till my appointed change, unfretting, Sometimes I sit half regretting That she sighed.
Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The sigh", appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, first published 1909 [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 Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "The sigh", op. 14 no. 7, published 1933 [ tenor and piano ], from A Young Man's Exhortation, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , David Arkell [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 148