Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day,
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like [fairy-gifts]1, fading away!
Thou wouldst still be ador'd as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will;
And, around the dear ruin, each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still!

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofan'd by a tear,
That the fervour and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear!
[No, the]2 heart, that has truly lov'd, never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close;
As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she turn'd when he rose!

V. Herbert sets stanza 1

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View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Herbert: "fairy wings"
² Stevenson: "Oh! the"

Text Authorship:

• by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), no title, written 1808 [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 Victor Herbert (1859 - 1924), "Believe me, if all those endearing young charms", first performed 1908, stanza 1 [ voice and piano ], from The Bards of Ireland, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Believe me if all those endearing young charms", published 1947 [ voice and piano ], from The Arnold Book of Old Songs, no. 4, London, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Andrew Stevenson (1761 - 1833), "Believe me if all those endearing young charms" [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ignaz Brüll.
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Researcher for this page: Robert Grady

This text was added to the website: 2004-06-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 137