by Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)

Language: English 
Dies, all dies!
The grass it dies, but in vernal rain
Up it springs, and it lives again:
Over and over, again and again, it lives, it dies,
And it lives again, and over and over again,
Who sighs that all dies?

Summer and winter, pleasure and pain,
Everything, everywhere in God's reign.
They end, and anon they begin again:
Wane and wax and wane:
Over and over and over amain,
End, ever end, and begin again.

Composition:

    Set to music by Jack Hamilton Beeson (b. 1921), "Who sighs that all dies?", 1952, rev. 1959, 1995, first performed 1958 [ high voice and piano ], from Six Lyrics, no. 3

Text Authorship:

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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: 12
Word count: 78