by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
Tell me not, in mournful numbers
Language: English
Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,--act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o'erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.
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Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "A psalm of life", appears in Voices of the Night, first published 1839 [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 George Arthur Barker (1812 - 1876), "A psalm of life", published 186-? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Beecher (1815 - 1900), "A psalm of life" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louisa Bellamy , "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francesco Berger (1834 - 1933), "A psalm of life" [ partsong for boys' chorus or girls' chorus and piano ], from Two-Part Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. C. Beuthin , "Psalm of life" [ partsong for three-part chorus with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Blockley (1800 - 1882), "A psalm of life", published >>1858 [ voice and piano ], also published for duet [sung text not yet checked]
- by Theodor L. Clemens , "A psalm of life", published 1880? [ partsong for TTBB chorus ], from J. B. Cramer's Select Library of Part Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Clifford , "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Coote, Jr. (1807 - 1879), "All things are not what they seem" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "A psalm of life", published 1895 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by F. S. Dugmore , "A psalm of life" [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano or organ ], from Voices of the Night [sung text not yet checked]
- by Luther Orlando Emerson (1820 - 1915), "Tell me not in mournful numbers", published 1854 [ voice and piano ], arrangement of a Schubert melody [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stephen Ralph Glover (1812 - 1870), "Psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pasquale D. Guglielmo (1810 - 1873), "Life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Washington Hewitt (1811 - 1893), "A psalm of life", published 1869 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Laurence Hime (b. 1823), "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Faustina Hasse Hodges (1823 - 1895), "A psalm of life", published 1884 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by James Kinross , "A psalm of life" [ partsong for satb chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Lane , "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maria Lindsay (flourished 1855-1875), "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harvey Worthington Loomis (1865 - 1930), "A quotation" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by C. C. Miller , "A psalm of life", published >>1866 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Henry Montgomery (1811? - 1886), "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dudley Peale , "A psalm of life", published 1932 [ SATB chorus and piano or organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick Peel, Reverend , "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Proch (1809 - 1878), "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Henry Purday (1799 - 1885), "Tell me not in mournful numbers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. M. Römele , "A psalm of life", published 1882 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis (Frank) Romer (1810 - 1889), "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Thomas Smart (1813 - 1879), "A psalm of life" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry C. Spencer , "Fourths" [ voice and piano ], from Songs Illustrating the Intervals [sung text not yet checked]
- by M. A. Stocker , "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank A. Tepé , "Life is not an empty dream", published 1855 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clara Tillett , "Tell me not in mournful numbers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Amanda W. Titus , "Footprints on the sands of time", published 1873 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Miss) Margaret Wakefield , "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mrs. Augustus Warburton , "A psalm of life" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Charles Ward (1835 - ?), "Lives of great men" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Eugene Ward (1917 - 2013), "A psalm of life", published 1979 [ soprano and baritone soli, mixed chorus, optional narrator, and orchestra ], from Fifth Symphony: Canticles of America [sung text not yet checked]
- by East John Westrop (1804 - 1856), "A psalm of life", published 185-? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert H. Wood , "A psalm of life", published 1862 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ernst Eckstein) , "Ein Lebens-Psalm", subtitle: "(Nach dem Englischen von H.W. Longfellow.)", appears in In Moll und Dur, in 3. Dritte Abtheilung
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-22
Line count: 36
Word count: 210