by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)
Life may change, but it may fly not
Language: English
Life may change, but it may fly not;
Hope may vanish, but can die not;
Truth be veiled, but still it burneth;
Love repulsed, - but it returneth!
Yet were life a charnel, where
Hope lay coffined with Despair;
Yet were Truth a sacred lie,
Love were lust --
If Liberty
Lent not life its soul of light,
Hope its iris of delight,
Truth its prophet's robe to wear,
Love its power to give and bear.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), no title, appears in Hellas [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 Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "A song of liberty" [unison chorus and orchestra (or piano)], from Six choral songs to be sung in time of war, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2005-12-31
Line count: 13
Word count: 74