Here lies a most beautiful lady, Light of heart and step was she; I think she was the most beautiful lady That ever was in the West Country. But beauty passes; beauty vanishes; However rare, rare it be; And when I die, who will remember That lady of the West Country.
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Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "An epitaph", appears in The Listeners and Other Poems, first published 1912 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by David Frederick Barlow (1927 - 1975), "An epitaph" [ alto and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Edward) Maurice Besly (1888 - 1945), "An epitaph", published 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerald Wilfred Cockshott (b. 1915), "Here lies a most beautiful lady", 1943 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edgar Martin Deale (1902 - 1999), "The Lady of the West Country", 1961 [ SATB chorus, clarinet, and piano ], from Five Poets -- Seven Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by John William Duarte (b. 1919), "An epitaph", published 1971 [ high voice and classical guitar ], from Five Quiet Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "An epitaph", 1919, published 1938 [ voice and piano ], from A Second Volume of Ten Songs, no. 4, London: Oxford University Press [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Alan Hoggett , "An epitaph", published 1928 [ voice and piano ], from New Songs for New Voices [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rosalie Housman (1890? - 1949), "Epitaph" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John G. Koch (b. 1928), "An epitaph", published 1965 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael Mulliner (1896? - 1973), "An epitaph", published 1956 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "An Epitaph", op. 332 (1952) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Sheldon , "An epitaph", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by David E. Stone (b. 1922), "An epitaph", published 1961 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 51