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Ah, Love, but a day, And the world has changed! The sun's away, And the bird estranged; The wind has dropped, And the sky's deranged; Summer has stopped. Look in my eyes! Wilt thou change too? Should I fear surprise? Shall I find aught new In the old and dear, In the good and true, With the changing year? Thou art a man, But I am thy love. For the lake, its swan; For the dell, its dove; And for thee — (oh, haste!) Me, to bend above, Me, to hold embraced.
A. Beach sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Browning (1812 - 1889), no title, appears in James Lee's Wife [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 Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "Ah, Love, but a day", op. 44 (Three Browning Songs) no. 2, published c1900, stanzas 1-2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hallet Gilberté (1872 - 1946), "Ah, Love, but a day" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julian Pascal , "Ah, love, but a day", published 1900 [ medium voice and piano ], Boston, Oliver Ditson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844 - 1931), "Ah Love, but a day", op. 27 no. 4, published 1893 [ voice and piano ], from Browning songs (First Series), no. 4, Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt and Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844 - 1931), "Ah, love, but a day", op. 28 (Three Songs) no. 2, published 1893 [ voice and piano ], Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt and Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "James Lee's wife speaks at the window", 1906, published 1907 [ mezzo-soprano and orchestra or piano ], from James Lee's Wife, no. 1, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Sharon Krebs) , "Ach, Geliebter, nur ein Tag", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Denise Ritter Bernardini) , "Ah, l'amore, ma un giorno", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 92
Ah, l'amore, ma un giorno, E il mondo è cambiato! Via del sole, E l'uccello estraneo; Il vento è calato, E il cielo della squilibrato; L'estate è fermato. Guardami negli occhi! Vuoi tu cambiare troppo? Dovrei temere sorpresa? Devo trovare tutto nuovo? Nel vecchio e caro, In buono e vero, Con l'anno che cambia?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2014 by Denise Ritter Bernardini, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Robert Browning (1812 - 1889), no title, appears in James Lee's Wife
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-23
Line count: 14
Word count: 54