Memory | When I was young my heart and head were light

by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886 - 1967)

When I was young my heart and head were...

Language: English

Our translations: FRE

When I was young my heart and head were light,
And I was gay and feckless as a colt
Out in the fields, with morning in the may,
Wind on the grass, wings in the orchard bloom.
  O thrilling sweet, my joy, when life was free
  And all the paths led on from hawthorn-time
  Across the carolling meadows into June.

But now my heart is heavy-laden. I sit
Burning my dreams away beside the fire:
For death has made me wise and bitter and strong;
And I am rich in all that I have lost.
  O starshine on the fields of long-ago,
  Bring me the darkness and the nightingale;
  Dim wealds of vanished summer, peace of home,
  And silence; and the faces of my friends.

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Confirmed with Siegfried Sassoon, PICTURE-SHOW and other poems, E.P. Dutton and company, New York, 1920, page 15

First published in Today, March 1918

Text Authorship:

by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886 - 1967), "Memory" [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 Palph (?) J. DeGolier , "Now my heart is heavy-laden", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-10-19
Line count: 15
Word count: 125