by William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585 - 1649)
This life, which seems so fair
Language: English
This Life, which seems so fair, Is like a bubble blown up in the air By sporting children's breath, Who chase it everywhere And strive who can most motion it bequeath. And though it sometimes seem of its own might Like to an eye of gold to be fixed there, And firm to hover in that empty height, That only is because it is so light. But in that pomp it doth not long appear; For when 'tis most admired, in a thought, Because it erst was nought, it turns to nought.
Text Authorship:
- by William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585 - 1649) [author's text not yet checked 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 Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "This life, which seems so fair", op. 5 no. 3, published 1926, first performed 1936 [ unaccompanied chorus ], from Three Short Elegies, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernst Křenek (1900 - 1991), "This life, which seems so fair", op. 87 no. 1 (1939) [ chorus a cappella ], from Two choruses on Jacobean poems für Chor a cappella, no. 1, Wien und Leipzig, Universal Edition [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Die Seifenblase", 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: 2008-01-07
Line count: 12
Word count: 92