by Edmond Holmes (1850 - 1936)
Like as the thrush in winter when the...
Language: English
Like as the thrush in winter when the skies Are drear and dark and all the woods are bare, Sings undismayed, till from his melodies Odours of spring float through the frozen air; - So in my heart, when sorrow’s icy breath Is bleak and bitter, and its frost is strong, Leaps up, defiant of despair and death, A sunlit mountain of triumphant song. Sing on, sweet singer, till the violets come, And south winds blow; sing on, prophetic bird! Oh, if my lips, which are for ever dumb, Could sing to men what my sad heart has heard – Life’s darkest hour with songs of joy would ring, Life’s blackest frost would blossom into spring.
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Text Authorship:
- by Edmond Holmes (1850 - 1936), no title, appears in The Triumph of Love, no. 48, John Lane, first published 1902 [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 Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "Like as the thrush in winter when the skies", op. 82 no. 2 (1902), published 1903, first performed 1903 [ voice and piano ], from Five Sonnets from The Triumph of Love , no. 2, Boosey & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Christopher Howell
This text was added to the website: 2020-10-10
Line count: 14
Word count: 115