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by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869 - 1935)

Calvary
 (Sung text for setting by J. Duke)
 Matches base text
Language: English 
Friendless and faint, with martyred steps and slow, 
Faint for the flesh, but for the spirit free, 
Stung by the mob that came to see the show, 
The Master toiled along to Calvary; 
We gibed him, as he went, with houndish glee, 
Till his dimmed eyes for us did overflow; 
We cursed his vengeless hands thrice wretchedly, -- 
And this was nineteen hundred years ago. 

But after nineteen hundred years the shame 
Still clings, and we have not made good the loss 
That outraged faith has entered in his name. 
Ah, when shall come love's courage to be strong! 
Tell me, O Lord -- tell me, O Lord, how long 
Are we to keep Christ writhing on the cross!

Composition:

    Set to music by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Calvary", 1945, published 1948 [ low voice and piano ], from Four Poems by Edwin Arlington Robinson, no. 4

Text Authorship:

  • by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869 - 1935), "Calvary", appears in The Children of the Night, first published 1897

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 117

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