by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
If life were but a dream, my Love
Language: English
If life were but a dream, my Love,
And death the waking time;
If day had not a beam, my Love,
And night had not a rhyme, --
A barren, barren world were this
Without one saving gleam;
I 'd only ask that with a kiss
You'd wake me from the dream.
If dreaming were the sum of days,
And loving were the bane;
If battling for a wreath of bays
Could soothe a heart in pain, --
I'd scorn the meed of battle's might,
All other aims above
I'd choose the human's higher right,
To suffer and to love!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "If" [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 Robert Owens (1925 - 2017), "If", op. 15 no. 1 [ high voice and piano ], from Three Songs for a high voice and piano, no. 1, with a German translation by Erika Berghöfer-Engen [sung text not yet checked]
- by Florence Beatrice Price (1887 - 1953), "If", 1936 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Theophil Wendt , "A dream", published 1904 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-27
Line count: 16
Word count: 98