I dare not ask a kiss,
I dare not beg a smile,
Lest having that, or this,
I might grow proud the while.
No, no, the utmost share
Of my desire shall be
Only to kiss that air
That lately kissed thee.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Phyllis Batchelor (1915 - 1999), "I dare not ask a kiss", copyright © 2018 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "To Electra" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Petr Eben (1929 - 2007), "I dare not ask" [ voice and guitar ], from Písně k loutně, no. 2, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Muriel Emily Herbert (1897 - 1984), "I dare not ask a kiss" [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by William Mayer (b. 1925), "To Electra" [ satb chorus a cappella ], from Four Madrigals, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "I dare not ask a kiss", published 1905, from Camella. A Song Cycle in miniature. Eight Elizabethan Lyrics, London : Boosey & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "To Electra", op. 7 no. 4 (c1905), published 1907 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Five Lyics of Robert Herrick, no. 4, Forsyth [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "I dare not ask a kiss", alternate title: "To Electra", op. 28 no. 3 (1925), published 1926 [ voice and piano ], from Five Jacobean Lyrics, no. 3, London, Boosey [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844 - 1931), "I dare not ask", op. 26 (Six Songs) no. 3, published 1888 [ voice and piano ], Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt and Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "To Electra", published 1881 [ voice and piano ], London: Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856 - 1923), "To Electra", published 1891, from Nine love songs and a carol, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (James) Healey Willan (1880 - 1968), "To Electra" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "An Elektra", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 42
Küsse und Lächeln wag'
ich niemals zu erfleh'n.
Wär'n beide mein Ertrag,
würd' stolz indes ich geh'n.
So bleibt das schönste Los,
das meinem Durst gebührt,
den Hauch zu küssen bloß,
der jüngst dich hat berührt.
