One ever hangs where shelled roads part.
In this war He too lost a limb,
But His disciples hide apart;
And now the Soldiers bear with Him.

Near Golgatha strolls many a priest,
And in their faces there is pride
That they were flesh-marked by the Beast
By whom the gentle Christ's denied.

The scribes on all the people shove
And bawl allegiance to the state,
But they who love the greater love
Lay down their life; they do not hate.

Note: in Britten's setting, each stanza is separated by lines from Agnus dei. The two texts are interleaved.

Text Authorship:

• by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918), "At a Calvary near the Ancre", from Poems, first published 1931 [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):

[ None yet in the database ]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Agnus Dei", op. 66 no. 5, published 1961 [ soprano, tenor, baritone, satb chorus, boys' chorus, orchestra, chamber orchestra, organ ], from War Requiem, no. 5
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Dr. Anthony Krupp) (Clo Blanco) , "En un Calvario cerca del Ancre", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-08
Line count: 12
Word count: 81

Un sempre resta on les carreteres bombardejades es bifurquen.
En aquesta guerra Ell també ha estat mutilat,
però els seus deixebles s’amaguen a part;
i ara els soldats són indulgents amb Ell.

Molts sacerdots donen tombs prop del Gòlgota,
amb orgull a llurs rostres
marcats en la carn per la Bèstia
per a qui el bon Crist fou negat.

Els escribes empentegen a tota la gent
I pregonen lleialtat a l’estat,
Però els que estimen amb un amor superior
sacrifiquen llur vida, ells no odien.