by Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848)
Sleep brings no joy to me
Language: English
Sleep brings no joy to me, Remembrance never dies; My soul is given to misery, And lives in sighs. Sleep brings no rest to me; The shadows of the dead, My wakening eyes may never see, Surround my bed. Sleep brings no hope to me; In soundest sleep they come, And with their doleful imagery Deepen the gloom. Sleep brings no strength to me, No power renewed to brave: I only sail a wilder sea, A darker wave. Sleep brings no friend to me To soothe and aid to bear; They all gaze on - how scornfully! And I despair.
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Text Authorship:
- by Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848), no title, appears in Poems by Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë Now for the First Time Printed, first published 1902 [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 John Pierre Herman Joubert (1927 - 2019), "Sleep", published 1971 [ high voice and piano ], from Six Poems of Emily Brontë [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "Sleep brings no joy to me", 1937 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Owens (1925 - 2017), "Sleep brings no joy", op. 18 no. 3 [ low voice and piano ], from 3 Songs for a Deep Voice and Piano, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nick Peros (b. 1963), "Sleep brings no joy to me" [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 99