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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

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