by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
Up! up! my friend, and clear your looks
Language: English
Up! up! my friend, and clear your looks, Why all this toil and trouble? Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you'll grow double. The sun, above the mountain's head, A freshening lustre mellow Through all the long green fields has spread, His first sweet evening yellow. Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife: Come, hear the woodland linnet, How sweet his music! on my life, There's more of wisdom in it. And hark! how blithe the throstle sings! He, too, is no mean Preacher; Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher. She has a world of ready wealth, Our minds and hearts to bless -- Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health, Truth breathed by cheerfulness. One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can. Sweet is the love which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things: -- We murder to dissect. Enough of science and of art; Close up those barren leaves; Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives.
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Authorship:
- by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), "The tables turned; An Evening Scene on the same Subject", written 1798 [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 Otto Freudenthal (b. 1934), "Sweet is the love" [voice and piano], from Two Wordsworth Songs, no. 1. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-10-22
Line count: 32
Word count: 188