by Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875)
My fairest child, I have no song to give...
Language: English
My fairest child, I have no song to give you; No lark could pipe in skies so dull and gray; Yet, if you will, one quiet hint I'll leave you, For every day. I'll tell you how to sing a clearer carol Than lark who hails the dawn or breezy down; To earn yourself a purer poet's laurel Than Shakespeare's crown. Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be clever; Do lovely things, not dream them, all day long; And so make Life, Death, and that vast For Ever One grand sweet song.
J. Paine sets stanzas 1, 3
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Frances Eliza Grenfell Kingsley, Charles Kingsley. His Letters and Memories of His Life. Edited by His Wife, H.S. King & Company, 1877, page 487. Note: C. E. G. is the author's niece, Charlotte Grenfell (later Mrs. Theodore Walrond). The second verse was left out by accident when the poem was first published.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875), "A Farewell: To C. E. G.", written 1856, appears in Andromeda and Other Poems, first published 1858 [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 Michael William Balfe (1808 - 1870), "My fairest child" [ unison chorus and piano ], London: Curwen [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles C. Bethune , "Farewell", published 1878 [ voice and piano ], London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rossetter Gleason Cole (1866 - 1952), "A Farewell", published 1916 [ voice and piano ], Boston: Birchard, in the collection Junior Laurel Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harvey Grace (1874 - 1944), "A Farewell", published 1912 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], London: Richards [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Francis Hill (1870 - 1960), "My fairest child" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (William Frances) Lawrence Kellie (1862 - 1932), "My fairest child", published 1892 [ voice and piano ], London: Cocks [sung text not yet checked]
- by Horatio C. King , "One grand sweet song", published 1918 [ voice and piano ], Boston: Ginn, in the collection The abridged academy song-book [sung text checked 1 time]
- by E. W. Klotschubey , "One grand sweet song", published 1929 [ voices and piano ], New York: Macm, in the collection Songs of Purpose [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel Liddle (1864? - 1951), "A Farewell", published 1907 [ voice and piano ], London: Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- possibly by Thomas Mountain , "My fairest child", published 1882 [ voice and piano ], London: Novello ; composer given as T. Mountain [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Knowles Paine (1839 - 1906), "A Farewell", op. 40 (Four Songs) no. 2, published 1885, stanzas 1, 3 [ voice and piano ], Arthur P. Schmidt & Co., Boston [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Teresa del Riego (c1876 - 1968), "My gentle child", published 1897 [ voice and piano ], note: text slightly altered; London: Chappell [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sebastian Benson Schlesinger (1837 - 1917), "My fairest child", published 1889 [ voice and piano ], from An Album of Eight Songs, London: Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2010-02-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 102