by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Be near me when my light is low
Language: English
Be near me when my light is low, When the blood creeps, and the nerves prick And tingle; and the heart is sick, And all the wheels if Being slow. Be near me when the sensuous frame Is rack'd with pangs that conquer trust; And Time, a maniac scattering dust, And life, a Fury slinging flame. Be near me when my faith is dry, And men the flies of latter spring, That lay their eggs, and sting and sing And weave their petty cells and die. Be near me when I fade away, To point the term of human strife, And on the low dark verge of life The twilight of eternal day.
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Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in In Memoriam A. H. H. obiit MDCCCXXXIII, no. 50, 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 Jonathan Dove (b. 1959), "Be near me", 2017 [ tenor and piano ], from Under Alter'd Skies, no. 5, confirmed with a concert programme booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Huub de Lange (b. 1955), "Be near me when my light is low", published 2006 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Eugene Premru (b. 1934), "Triptych for Voices and Brass", copyright © 1969 [ SATB chorus, trumpets, and trombones ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Be near me when my light is low", published 1885 [ voice and piano ], from Four Songs from Tennyson's In Memoriam, no. 4, London, Chappell [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-28
Line count: 16
Word count: 113