by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
I envy not in any moods
Language: English
I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage, The linnet born within the cage, That never knew the summer woods: I envy not the beast that takes His license in the field of time, Unfetter'd by the sense of crime, To whom a conscience never wakes; Nor, what may count itself as blest, The heart that never plighted troth But stagnates in the weeds of sloth; Nor any want-begotten rest. I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.
B. Britten sets stanza 4
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Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, written 1849, appears in In Memoriam A. H. H. obiit MDCCCXXXIII, no. 27, first published 1850 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The joy of grief", 1926, stanza 4 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "I envy not in any moods" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "'Tis better to have loved and lost", published 1885 [ voice and piano ], from Four Songs from Tennyson's In Memoriam, no. 2, London, Chappell [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 101