Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridall of the earth and skie:
The dew shall weep thy fall to night;
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue angrie and brave
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye:
Thy root is ever in its grave
And thou must die.
Sweet spring, full of sweet dayes and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie;
My musick shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.
Onely a sweet and vertuous soul,
Like season'd timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal,
Then chiefly lives.
R. Vaughan Williams sets stanzas 1, 3-4
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by George Herbert (1593 - 1633), "Vertue", appears in The Temple, first published 1633 [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 James Whitton Aikman (b. 1959), "Vertue" [ baritone and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Barney Childs (1926 - 2000), "Virtue" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Matthew Emery (b. 1991), "Vertue" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Olivier Greif (1950 - 2000), "Vertue", op. 310 no. 6 (1995) [ voice and piano ], from Les chants de l'âme, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael (Dewar) Head (1900 - 1976), "Sweet day! so cool", 1919, published 1921 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jeffrey Thomas King , "Virtue", 1965 [ SSA chorus a cappella ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ann Sheppard Mounsey (1811 - 1891), "Sweet day so cool", published 1860 [ satb chorus ], London : Pitman [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roxanna Panufnik (b. 1968), "Virtue", 1992 [ mezzo-soprano and string orchestra ], Peters Edition [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nick Peros (b. 1963), "Virtue" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Sweet Day", op. 615 (1962) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adam Taylor (b. 1981), "Sweet day", op. 28 no. 1 (2003) [ SSAA chorus a cappella ], from Four Songs of Calm, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Sweet day", 1896, stanzas 1,3-4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Vertu", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Die Seele", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 99
Du holder Tag, so süß im Morgenrot, Bräutliche Düfte sind´s, die dich umwehn: Die Nacht, in Tränen, weint um deinen Tod – Auch du mußt gehn! Du holde Rose, süß wie Honigseim, Die Augen taun, die glücksberauscht dich sehn: Zur Wurzel, die dich nährt, kehrst du einst heim – Auch du mußt gehn! Du holder Lenz, in deiner Tage Glanz, Da deine Rosen süß in Düften stehn: Mein Lied, für dich ein kleiner Blütenkranz, Wird auch vergehn. Einzig die Seele ist´s, sie wird bestehn: Kein Sturz, kein Brand, kein Grab, das sie begräbt! Mag alle Welt in Staub und Schutt vergehn, Sie bleibt und lebt.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 128.
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), "Die Seele", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by George Herbert (1593 - 1633), "Vertue", appears in The Temple, first published 1633
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Volkmar Henschel
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 105