Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For then the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

Come, as thou cam'st a thousand times,
A messenger from radiant climes,
And smile on thy new world, and be
As kind to all the rest as me.

Or, as thou never cam'st in sooth,
Come now, and let me dream it truth;
And part my hair, and kiss my brow,
And say - My love! why sufferest thou? 

Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For then the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

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Confirmed with Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems B Fellowes, London, 1852, Page 83.

Text Authorship:

• by Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888), "Longing", appears in Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems, no. 6, first published 1852 [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 Ainslie Barry (1830 - 1915), "Come to me in my dreams", published c1869 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Helen Benner , "Longing", published 1939 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941), "Come to me in my dreams", 1906, published 1918 [ voice, piano ], revised 1918 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Winifred May Bury (1897 - 1977), "Come to me in my dreams", 1946 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Noble Cain (1896 - 1977), "Longing", published <<1940 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Henry Coates , "Longing", published [1912] [ voice and piano ], London: Novello ; may be incorrect text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
• by Bonita Crowe , "Longing", published <<1940 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Matthew Emery (b. 1991), "Longing", 2011 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Mark Fax (1911 - 1974), "Longing", published 1946, copyright © 1946 [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Samuel Richards Gaines (1869 - 1945), "Longing" [ medium voice and piano ], from Two Poems of Love, New York: G. Schirmer ; may be incorrect text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
• by J. Frederick Keel (1871 - 1954), "Longing", published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Two songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Haydn Keeton (b. 1847), "Longing", published [1913] [ four-part chorus (a cappella?) ], London: Novello ; may be incorrect text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
• by (William Frances) Lawrence Kellie (1862 - 1932), "Come to me in my dreams", published 1907 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Gustav Klemm (1897 - 1947), "Come to me in my dreams", published <<1940 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Anthony Paganucci , "Longing", published 1930 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul Amadeus Pisk (1893 - 1990), "Longing", 1938-9 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "Come to me in my dreams", published 1935, copyright © 1936 [ voice, piano ], from Three Songs with Piano, no. 3, Boosey & Hawkes, confirmed with Century of English Song, Volume VIII Association of English Singers and Speakers, Printed by Good Music, Tewkesbury, 2016, Page 10. [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Cyril V. Taylor (b. 1907), "Longing", published 1935 [ medium voice or high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Come to me in my dreams", published 1888 [ voice, piano ], London: Chappell [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in French (Français), a translation by Robert, vicomte d'Humières (1868 - 1915) ; composed by Sebastian Benson Schlesinger.
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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ted Perry , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 120