by Amelia (Ann) Blandford Edwards (1831 - 1892)
Language: English
Ah, Faithless! all this winter long My pain has been thy pastime; I loved with heart, and soul, and song,-- Thine all the sport, mine all the wrong, -- Beware! it is the last time. For now I know thee. Thou would'st fain Thyself undo the darling chain, And cast me on the world again, A lonely man, to-morrow! But no! I swear that must not be! Thou can'st not, if thou would'st, be free! Ah! faithless, heartless, thou shalt see What strength despair can borrow; For, be it well, or be it ill, I feel that I must love thee still, Through scorn, and pain, and sorrow! Ah, Cruel! though my love were shown In strangely silent fashion, Thou could'st have guessed it -- thou alone! In every look and every tone That told the tale of passion! Alas! had I more boldly woo'd, Had I with fiery vows pursued, Ah! then, perchance, I had subdued And made thee mine forever! But, by the bitter fate that drove me, By every star that shines above me, I swear that I will make thee love me Despite thine own endeavour! Nor life nor death shall set thee free; And neither Heav'n, nor earth, nor sea, Thy life and mine shall sever!
Composition:
- Set to music by Frances Allitsen (1848 - 1912), "Rebellion", published 1905 [ voice and piano ], from Moods and Tenses (Phases in a Love Drama) - Cycle of Eight Songs, no. 1, London, New York: Boosey & Co.
Text Authorship:
- by Amelia (Ann) Blandford Edwards (1831 - 1892), "Ballad", appears in Hand and Glove, Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnitz, page 138, in Chapter XIII, A Dinner "en Province [sic].", first published 1865
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Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2012-08-12
Line count: 32
Word count: 220