by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
Thou art my lute
Language: English
Thou art my lute, by thee I sing,— My being is attuned to thee. Thou settest all my words a-wing, And meltest me to melody. Thou art my life, by thee I live, From thee proceed the joys I know; Sweetheart, thy hand has power to give The meed of love—the cup of woe. Thou art my love, by thee I lead My soul the paths of light along, From vale to vale, from mead to mead, And home it in the hills of song. My song, my soul, my life, my all, Why need I pray or make my plea, Since my petition cannot fall; For I’m already one with thee!
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "Thou art my lute" [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 Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork (b. 1941), "Thou art my lute", 1994, from Common Ground: An Operatic Songfest, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "Thou Art My Lute", op. 349 no. 2 (2022) [ voice and piano ], from Drei Lieder nach Paul Laurence Dunbar, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2020-06-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 112