by Algernon Blackwood (1869 - 1951)
Tears and laughter
Language: English
Oh! stars shine brightly!
He's sleeping tightly !
His pattern's pouring through!
Oh! Sprites come swiftly!
Unwumble deftly!
The world has need of you!
They'll listen to my song
And understand
That, exiled over long,
From Fairyland,
The weary world has rather lost its way!
Rather lost its way!
My secret's double,
For tears of trouble
Are really tears of laughter gone astray.
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 Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Tears and laughter", op. 78 no. 6 (1915), first performed 1915 [soprano and piano], from The Starlight Express, no. 6. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-19
Line count: 15
Word count: 62