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by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)

Oh, call it by some better name
Language: English 
Oh, call it by some better name,
    For Friendship sounds too cold,
While Love is now a worldly flame,
    Whose shrine must be of gold:
And Passion, like the sun at noon,
    That burns o'er all he sees,
Awhile as warm will set as soon--
    Then call it none of these.

Imagine something purer far,
    More free from stain of clay
Than Friendship, Love, or Passion are,
    Yet human, still as they:
And if thy lip, for love like this,
    No mortal word can frame,
Go, ask of angels what it is,
    And call it by that name!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), no title [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 Wintter Haynes Watts (1884 - 1962), "Oh, call it by some better name", published 1910 [ voice and piano ], from Five songs with piano accompaniment, no. 4, New York, G. Schirmer ; Boston, Boston Music Co. [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2020-10-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 98

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