Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Friendship like the holly-tree -
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms'
But which will bloom most constantly?

The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring,
It's summer blossoms scent the air.
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?

Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck thee with the holly's sheen,
That when December blights thy brow
He still may leave thy garland green.

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Note: Coulthard has made textual changes that are not noted above.

Text Authorship:

• by Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848), "Love and Friendship", appears in Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, new revised edition, first published 1850 [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 Ronald A. Beckett , "Love and Friendship", 2020 [ voice, violin, cello ], from Four songs for voice, violin, and cello from poems by Emily Brontë, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Harvey Clements (b. 1910), "The Holly Tree", published 1959 [ voice or unison chorus with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "Roundelay", 1974 [ soprano and alto, piano ], from Songs From the Distaff Muse, Set Two [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Love and friendship", 1970, published 1977 [ medium voice and piano ], from Six Songs on Poems by Emily Brontë, no. 2, Southern/NY [sung text not yet checked]
• by Einna , "Love and Friendship", published 1879 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Herbert Horrocks , "The Holly Tree", published 1956 [ SA chorus piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "Love and Friendship", 1926, published 1928, first performed 1928 [ voice and piano ], from Three Songs, no. 1, Augener & Co. Ltd. [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alfred Jepson , "Love and Friendship", published 1962 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by David Leisner (b. 1958), "Love and Friendship", 1986 [ voice and piano or guitar ], from Confiding, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 76