by Amelia Josephine Burr (1878 - 1968)
A Song of Living
Language: English
Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die. I have sent up my gladness on wings, to be lost in the blue of the sky. I have run and leaped with the rain, I have taken the wind to my breast. My cheek like a drowsy child to the face of the earth I have pressed. Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die. I have kissed young Love on the lips, I have heard his song to the end. I have struck my hand like a seal in the loyal hand of a friend. I have known the peace of heaven, the comfort of work done well. I have longed for death in the darkness and risen alive out of hell. Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die. I give a share of my soul to the world where my course is run. I know that another shall finish the task I must leave undone. I know that no flower, no flint was in vain on the path I trod. As one looks on a face through a window, through life I have looked on God. Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.
Confirmed with Amelia Josephine Burr, Life and Living. A Book of Verse, New York : George H. Doran Company, 1916, p.15
Text Authorship:
- by Amelia Josephine Burr (1878 - 1968), "A Song of Living", appears in Life and Living, first published 1916, copyright status unknown [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 Florence Beatrice Price (1887 - 1953), "A Song of Living", 1945 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-22
Line count: 15
Word count: 212