by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
At tea
Language: English
The kettle descants in a cosy drone, And they young wife looks in her husband's face, And then at her guest's, and shows in her own Her sense that she fills an envied place; And the visiting lady is all abloom, And says there was never so sweet a room. And the happy young housewife does not know That the woman beside her was first his choice, Till the fates ordained it could not be so.... Betraying nothing in look or voice The guests sits smiling and sips her tea, And he throws her a stray glance yearningly.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "At tea", appears in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries with Miscellaneous Pieces, first published 1914 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "At tea", 2003 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Nicholas Maw (1935 - 2009), "At tea" [ tenor and guitar ], from Six Interiors, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Zenobia Powell (1908 - 2004), "At tea" [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Choral Suite no. 1, choral suite [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 98