I have no life but this,
To lead it here;
Nor any death, but lest
Dispelled from there;
Nor tie to earths to come,
Nor action new,
Except through this extent,
The realm of you.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Thomas Pasatieri (b. 1945), "I have no life but this", published 1976 [ soprano, clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano ], from Far from love, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Myron Silberstein (b. 1975), "I have no life but this", 2016, from No Life But This, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Sisco , "I have no life but this", 2007 [ soprano and piano ], from Love is..., no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gitta Steiner (1932 - 1990), "I have no life but this" [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from 4 Choruses of Emily Dickinson [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Theophilus Walker (b. 1922), "I have no life but this" [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 35
Ich hab’ dies Leben nur
zu führen hier;
auch keinen Tod, denn den,
verbannt von hier;
Kein Band an dies, was kommt,
noch neues Tun,
es sei, in deinem Geist
und Herz zu ruhn.
