The hope I dreamed of was a dream,
Was but a dream; and now I wake,
Exceeding comfortless, and worn, and old,
For a dream's sake.
I hang my harp upon a tree,
A weeping willow in a lake;
I hang my silent harp there, wrung and snapt
For a dream's sake.
Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart;
My silent heart, lie still and break:
Life, and the world, and [mine]1 own self, are changed
For a dream's sake.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• C. Ives C. Ives sets stanzas 1, 3:2-4
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1 Ives: "my"
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Renato Cellini , "Mirage", published 1955 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Chorbajian (b. 1936), "Mirage", published 1970 [ four-part mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Harvey Clements (b. 1910), "Mirage", published 1952 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "For a dream's sake", published c1895? [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Edward Ives (1874 - 1954), "Mirage", 1902, published 1921, stanzas 1,3:2-4 [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jane Marian Joseph (1894 - 1929), "Mirage" [ voice, 2 violins, viola, violoncello ], from Mirage, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Walter Kramer (1890 - 1969), "For a dream's sake", published 1914 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Kunz (b. 1929), "Mirage", published 1966 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Will you come? [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel Ernest Lovatt (1877 - 1954), "Mirage", published 1949 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Henry Reed (1876 - 1942), "Mirage", published 1911 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "For a dream's sake", 1912, published 1912 [ voice and piano ], London : Elkin [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (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: 12
Word count: 81
梦中希望是梦一场，
只是场梦； 现已醒悟，
极度的不适、疲惫与陈旧，
为梦想故。
我把竖琴挂在树上，
湖中的那棵垂柳树；
竖琴那里挂，拧紧并弹响
为梦想故。
安静，安静，破碎的心；
沉默的心，安静，伤透：
生活、世界和自己，都改变
为梦想故。