by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)
When we two parted
Language: English
Available translation(s): CHI
When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.
The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow --
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.
They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me --
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well:--
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.
In secret we met --
In silence I grieve
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee? --
With silence and tears.
J. Ellerton sets stanza 3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "When we two parted", appears in Poems, first published 1816 [author's text checked 1 time 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 J. Alexander , "When we two parted", published 1909 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ], partsong [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Robinson Allen (1809 - 1876), "When we two parted" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frances Allitsen (1848 - 1912), "When we two parted", published 1897 [ voice and piano ], London & New York: Boosey & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mark Andrews (1875 - 1939), "When we two parted", published 1925 [ men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Catherine Armstrong , "When we two parted", published 1875 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by A. Barlow, Miss , "When we two parted", published 1904 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Richard Bexfield (1824 - 1853), "When we two parted", op. 4, published 1848 [ low voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ruth Fisher Braun , "When we two parted" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Horace Cadogan , "When we two parted", published 1885 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred James Caldicott (1842 - 1897), "Parted", published 1897 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "With silence and tears", 1941 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Harry) Wolseley Charles (1889 - 1962), "When we two parted", published 1899 [ alto or baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Clarke-Whitfeld (1770 - 1836), "The parting", published 1816 [ voice and piano ], from Twelve Vocal Pieces [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ambrose H. Comfort , "When we two parted", published 1884 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cecil Dorling , "When we two parted", published 1910 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Vincent Duval , "When we two parted", published 1830? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Lodge Ellerton (1801 - 1873), "When we two parted", 1824 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Lodge Ellerton (1801 - 1873), "They name thee before me", published 1826, stanza 3 [ voice and piano ], from Six Canzonets [sung text not yet checked]
- by James William Elliott (1833 - 1915), "When we two parted", 1853 [ voice and piano ], first published in Vocalist, May 1902 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roland Farley (1892 - 1932), "When we two parted", published 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Horatia Feilding , "When last we parted", published 1830? [ chorus and piano ], from Six songs, no. 5, London : T. Boosey & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Horatia Fielding , "When last we parted", published 1843 [ voice and piano ], from Six Songs, note: text has been changed by composer; variants not shown [sung text not yet checked]
- by R. Rashleigh Glendenning , "When we two parted", published 1897 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Four Lyrics [sung text not yet checked]
- by Horton Harris (b. 1938), "When we two parted", 1961 [ voice and piano ], from Three Byron Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Frederick Harvey , "When we two parted", published 1863 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maria Billington Hawes (1816 - 1886), "When we two parted", published 1856 [ duet for soprano and alto with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sophie E. Hudson , "When we two parted", published 1883 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Adam Hugo , "When we two parted", published 1919 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philip Knapton (1788 - 1833), "When we two parted", published 1819 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Philip Knight (1812 - 1887), "When we two parted", published 1835? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry James Lane-Wilson , "When we two parted", published 1912 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Linley (1798 - 1865), "When we two parted", published 1854 [ voice and piano ], from An Evening with Byron [sung text not yet checked]
- by Somerset C. Lowry , "After long years", published 1879 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clarence Lucas (1866 - 1947), "When we two parted", published 1894 [ baritone and piano ], from Album of 6 Baritone Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Alexander MacFarren (1813 - 1887), "When we two parted", published 1859 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Oskar Morawetz (b. 1917), "When we two parted", 1949 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Nash , "When we two parted", published 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "When we two parted", published 1817 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Owens (1925 - 2017), "When we two parted" [ tenor and piano ], from Stanzas for Music, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "When we two parted", 1895-6, published 1896 [ voice and piano ], from English Lyrics, Fourth Set, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), "When we two parted", published 1839 [ voice and piano ], from Thoughts of Melody [sung text not yet checked]
- by Percy Pitt (1870 - 1932), "When we two parted", <<1932 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edmund Rogers (b. 1851), "When we two parted", published 1876 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by C. Rudolphus , "When we two parted", published 1835? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Serge Saxe , "When we two parted", published 1944 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georgina Schuyler , "When we two parted", published 1875 [ alto or baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Louis Seeger, Jr. (1886 - 1979), "When we two parted", published 1911 [ high voice and piano ], from Seven Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Wilkinson Stephenson , "When we two parted", published 1920 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Thornton , "When we two parted", published 1869 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilbraham John Tollemache , "When we two parted", published 1887 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Tomling , "When we two parted", published 1904 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bryceson Treharne (1879 - 1948), "When we two parted", published 1918 [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fructuoso de Lima Vianna (1896 - 1976), "When we two parted", 1962 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810 - 1876), "When we two parted", published 1832 [ soprano or tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Chee Yean Wong (b. 1979), "When We Two Parted" [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. H. Wood , "When we two parted", published 1914 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by T. Wallace Southam , "We'll go no more a-roving", published 1966, stanza 1 of [ voice and piano ], from Poetry Set in Jazz
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Charles Bial.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in French (Français), a translation by André Viaud ; composed by Yüksel Koptagel.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Hermann Schneider (1860 - 1930) ; composed by Émile Antoine Bruguière.
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- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by V. Mefodiev.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) (Mei Foong Ang) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-23
Line count: 32
Word count: 144