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by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864)

Stay summer breath
Language: English 
Summer breath, Summer breath, whisp'ring low, 
Wand'ring in the darkness, where would'st thou go? 
Wilt thou not linger and perfume the night, 
With the Fragrance thou'st gather'd in regions of light? 

Dost sigh for the rose, would'st though visit her bower, 
Or sport with the mist till the coming of day; 
Or art thou seeking some modest wild flower, 
Whose beauty is gone with the sun's parting ray. 

Summer Breath, Summer breath, woo not the rose, 
There lies the dew drop in blissful repose, 
Nestling together, they know not of death; 
Would'st waft them a sunder? 
Stay summer breath. 

Stay for the vapours above yonder fountain, 
Will shun they caresses they love not the air. 
And all the wild flowers that bloom on the mountain, 
Will shrink from they kiss Summer breath, go not there!

Text Authorship:

  • by Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864), "Stay summer breath" [author's text checked 1 time 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 Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864), "Stay summer breath", published 1848. [voice and piano] [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

Researcher for this page: Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2015-12-26
Line count: 17
Word count: 135

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