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by Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803 - 1849)

The Phantom‑Wooer
Language: English 
A ghost, that loved a lady fair,
Ever in the starry air
    Of midnight at her pillow stood;
And, with a sweetness skies above
The luring words of human love
    Her soul the phantom wooed.
Sweet and sweet is their poisoned note,
The little snakes of silver throat,
In mossy skulls that nest and lie,
Ever singing, 'die, oh! die.'

Young soul, put off your flesh, and come
With me into the quiet tomb,
    Our bed is lovely, dark, and sweet;
The earth will swing us, as she goes,
Beneath our coverlid of snows,
    And the warm leaden sheet.
Dear and dear is their poisoned note,
The little snakes of silver throat,
In mossy skulls that nest and lie,
Ever singing, 'die, oh! die.'

Text Authorship:

  • by Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803 - 1849), "The Phantom-Wooer", appears in The Poems Posthumous and Collected of Thomas Lovell Beddoes, first published 1851 [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 (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "The Phantom-Wooer", published 1922. [satb chorus a cappella] [
     text not verified 
    ]
  • by Brian Holmes (b. 1946), "The Phantom-Wooer" [high voice, string quartet], from Death's Jest-Book, no. 4. [
     text verified 1 time
    ]
  • by William Martin Yeates Hurlstone (1876 - 1906), "The Phantom-Wooer", published 1902 [baritone and piano], from Four Songs [for baritone], no. 2, London, Edwin Ashdown [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this page: Brian Holmes

This text was added to the website: 2004-03-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 124

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