by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
Language: English
Our translations: SPA
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary ; It rains and the wind is never weary; The vine still clings to the mouldr'ng wall, But at every gust the dead leaves fall, And the day is [dark]1 and dreary. My life is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains and the wind is never weary; My thoughts still cling to the mould'ring Past, But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast, And the days are [dark]1 and dreary. Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Popular Poetry: a selection of pieces old and new, adapted for general use, London, Burns & Lambert, 1862, page 119.
1 Ascham: "cold"Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The rainy day", appears in Ballads and Other Poems, first published 1842 [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 Mrs. Henry Ames , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Ascham (1864 - 1934), "The rainy day", op. 22 (Twelve Songs with Pianoforte Accompaniment) no. 4 (1882-1899), published c1910 [ voice and piano ], London, Charles Vincent [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Michael William Balfe (1808 - 1870), "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Barnby, Sir (1838 - 1896), "The rainy day" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "The rainy day", 1880, published 1883 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Henry Behrend (1853 - 1935), "The rainy day", published 1878 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Hiles Bergen , "The day is dark and dreary", published 1936 [ male voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francesco Berger (1834 - 1933), "The rainy day" [ boys' chorus or girls' chorus and piano ], from Two-Part Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by John W. Bischoff (1850 - 1909), "The rainy day", published 1886 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Blockley (1800 - 1882), "The day is cold, and dark and dreary", published >>1858 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques (Jacob) Blumenthal (1829 - 1908), "The rainy day", published 1901 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig Bonvin (1850 - 1939), "The rainy day", op. 40 (Zwei Lieder für Mezzo-Sopran (oder Bariton) mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1898 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel , also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Camille , "The day is dark and dreary", published 1973 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Matthew Clemens , "The rainy day", published 1885 [ chorus ], partsong; in The Choral Handbook, no. 805 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "The rainy day", published >>1881 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Richardson Dempster (1809 - 1871), "The rainy day", published 1847 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Victor Despommier , "A rainy day", published 1911 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Lodge Ellerton (1801 - 1873), "The day is dark & dreary" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by A. E. P. Elliott , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Luther Orlando Emerson (1820 - 1915), "The rainy day" [ mixed chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicolas Flagello (b. 1928), "The rainy day", 1958 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "The rainy day", op. 4 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Goldbeck (1839 - 1908), "The day is cold", published 1870 [ baritone or contralto and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold Gorst , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cordelia Grylls , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by R. Ethel Harraden , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walter Harrison , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Liptrot Hatton (1809 - 1886), "The rainy day", published >>1866 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Faustina Hasse Hodges (1823 - 1895), "The dreary day", published 1860 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Croshaw Johnson , "Be still sad heart" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Myntora J. Lee , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur William Marchant (1850 - ?), "The rainy day" [ partsong for 2-part women's chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walter Maynard (1828 - 1894), "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Katharine Morrow , "The rainy day" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Bickford Pasmore (1857 - 1944), "The rainy day", published 1880 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by I. Piaggio , "The rainy day", published 1890 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Silas Gamaliel Pratt (1846 - 1916), "The rainy day", op. 20, published 1872 [ SATB quartet, chorus ad libitum, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Reinhardt , "The rainy day", published 186-? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermine Rudersdorff (1822 - 1882), "The rainy day", alternate title: "Dark and dreary", published 1873 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Shanley , "The rainy day", published 1939 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Stöhr (1874 - 1967), "The Rainy Day", op. 96 (10 Songs) no. 2 (1943) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Sullivan, Sir (1842 - 1900), "The rainy day" [ partsong for satb chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Felix Gerald Swinstead (1880 - 1959), "The rainy day", published 1912 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Wiebé , "The rainy day", published 1867 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Paul Sauterau ; composed by Emil Frey.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by (Gustav) Emil Barthel (1835 - 1906) , "Der Regentag" ; composed by Albert Ernst Anton Becker, Ludwig Bonvin, Otto Schmidt.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Ernst Eckstein) , "Der Regentag", subtitle: "(Nach dem Englischen von H.W. Longfellow.)", appears in In Moll und Dur, in 3. Dritte Abtheilung
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ferdinand Höfer) , "Der Regentag"
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Barbara Miller , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2005-08-03
Line count: 15
Word count: 119