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

Uno siempre queda suspendido donde se bifurcan los caminos bombardeados.
En esta guerra, Él también perdió un miembro,
pero sus discípulos se ocultan aparte;
y ahora los Soldados lo acompañan.

Cerca de Gólgota deambulan numerosos sacerdotes,
y sus rostros hay orgullo
de haber sido marcados en la carne por la Bestia,
quien negó al tierno Cristo.

Los escribientes, en todo el pueblo, apoyan
y vociferan su lealtad al Estado,
Pero los que aman el amor mayor
entregan su vida; ellos no odian.