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by David Hartley Coleridge (1796 - 1849)

When we were idlers with the loitering rills
 (Sung text for setting by L. Berkeley)
 See original
Language: English 
When we were idlers with the loitering rills,
  The need of human love we little noted:
  Our love was nature; and the peace that floated
On the white mist, and dwelt upon the hills,
To sweet accord subdued our wayward wills:
  One soul was ours, one mind, one heart devoted,
  That, wisely doting, asked not why it doted,
And ours the unknown joy, which knowing kills.
But now I find how dear thou wert to me;
  That man is more than half of nature's treasure,
Of that fair beauty which no eye can see,
  Of that sweet music which no ear can measure;
  And now the streams may sing for others' pleasure,
The hills sleep on in their eternity.

Composition:

    Set to music by Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "When we were idlers with the loitering rills", op. 58 no. 7 (1962), published 1963 [ high voice and piano ], from Autumn's Legacy, no. 7

Text Authorship:

  • by David Hartley Coleridge (1796 - 1849), "To a friend", from Poems, first published 1833

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-14
Line count: 14
Word count: 119

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