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by Elinor Wylie (1885 - 1928)

When I died in Berners Street
Language: English 
When I died in Berners Street
I remember well
That I had lights at head and feet
And a passing bell.

But when I died in Houndsditch
There came to lay me out
A washerwoman and a witch;
The rats ran about.

When I died in Holburn
In and old house and tall
I know the tapestry was torn
And hanging from the wall.

When I died in Marylebone
I was saying my prayers;
There I died all alone
Up four flights of stairs.

But when I died near Lincoln's Inn
The small gold I had
Surrounded me with kith and kin;
I died stark mad.

When I died in Bloomsbury
In the bend of your arm,
At the end I died merry
And comforted and warm.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   M. Howe 

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Elinor Wylie, Selected Works of Elinor Wylie, edited and with an introduction by Evelyn Helmick Hively, Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2005, page 73.


Text Authorship:

  • by Elinor Wylie (1885 - 1928), "A strange story", appears in Trivial Breath, New Republic, first published 1924 [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 Mary (Carlisle) Howe (1882 - 1964), "When I died in Berner's Street", published 1947 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-03-14
Line count: 24
Word count: 129

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