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by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

The Ballad of Reading Gaol
 (Sung text for setting by G. Medlock)
 See original
Language: English 
 ... 

Yet each man kills the thing he loves
  By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
  Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
  The brave man with a sword!

Some kill their love when they are young,
  And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
  Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
  The dead so soon grow cold.

Some love too little, some too long,
  Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
  And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
  Yet each man does not die.

He does not die a death of shame
  On a day of dark disgrace,
Nor have a noose about his neck,
  Nor a cloth upon his face,
Nor drop feet foremost through the floor
  Into an empty place

 ... 

And with tears of blood he cleansed the hand,
  The hand that held the steel:
For only blood can wipe out blood,
  And only tears can heal:
And the crimson stain that was of Cain
  Became Christ's snow-white seal.

VI.

In Reading gaol by Reading town
  There is a pit of shame,
And in it lies a wretched man
  Eaten by teeth of flame,
In burning winding-sheet he lies,
  And his grave has got no name.

 ... 

Composition:

    Set to music by Garrett Medlock (b. 1993), "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", 2025, published 2025, copyright © 2025, stanzas 7-10,106-108 [ tenor and piano ], from The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name, no. 10, Lupine Press

Text Authorship:

  • by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "The Ballad of Reading Gaol (first version)", first version, first published 1898

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-03
Line count: 660
Word count: 4073

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