It was not in the Winter
  Our loving lot was cast;
It was the time of roses -
  We pluck'd them as we [pass'd]1!

[That]2 churlish season never frown'd
  On early lovers yet:
O no - the world was newly crown'd
  With flowers [when first we]3 met!

'Twas twilight, and I bade you go,
  But still you held me fast;
It was the time of roses -
  We pluck'd them as we pass'd!

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900, Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed., 1919.

¹ Stöhr: "passed" (only here, not in stanza 3)
² Stöhr: "The"
³ Arditti: "when we"

Text Authorship:

• by Thomas Hood (1799 - 1845), "Time of Roses", from Literary Souvenirs, first published 1827 [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 David Arditti (b. 1964), "The time of roses", op. 2 no. 4 (1985-99), first performed 1990, from Thoughts of Youth, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alice Barnett (1886 - 1975), "The time of roses", c1926 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Herbert Bunning (1863 - 1937), "It was the time of roses", published 1892 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Arturo Buzzi-Peccia (1856 - 1943), "It was not in the winter", published <<1929 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "The time of roses", published 1896 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "Time of roses", op. 4 no. 9, published 1905 [ voice and piano ], from A Book of Songs, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Thomas George Beverley Halley , "It was the time of roses", published 1876 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Sidney Homer (1864 - 1953), "It was the time of roses", op. 10 (Three Poems of Thomas Hood) no. 1, published 1903 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Alexander Campbell MacKenzie, Sir (1847 - 1935), "It was the time of roses", published 1885 [ voice and piano ], from Eighteen Songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Grace Mays , "The time of roses", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by J. Ainslie Murray , "In time of roses", published 1936 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "The time of roses", 1955, published 1959 [ tenor and piano ], from Four Songs for High Voice and Piano, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Alexander Paucker (1905 - 1972), as Francis Chagrin, "Time of roses" [ voice, piano, and violoncello ad libitum ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "The time of roses", op. 24 no. 5 (1928), published 1928 [ voice and piano ], from Five English Love Lyrics, no. 5, London, Chappell [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hugh Stevenson Roberton, Sir (1874 - 1952), "It was the time of roses", published 1914 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Matilda Scalé , "The time of roses", published 1884 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by M. Scriblerus , "It was the time of roses", published 1880 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Cedric Sharpe (b. 1891), "It was the time of roses", published 1933 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Frederick James Simpson (b. 1856), "It was not in the winter", published 1888 [ TTB chorus a cappella ], from Three-Part Songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by T. Wallace Southam , "Time of roses", published 1966 [ voice and piano ], from Poetry Set in Jazz [sung text not yet checked]
• by Richard Stöhr (1874 - 1967), "Time of Roses", op. 91 (Twelve Songs) no. 3 (1943-1944) [ voice and piano ], unpublished; manuscript at Saint Michael's College Archives and available in scanned form at the Petrucci Music Library [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Rudolph T. Werther (1896 - 1986), "Time of roses", published 1968 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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: 70