The Reaper and the flowers | There is a Reaper, whose name is Death

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

There is a Reaper, whose name is Death

Language: English

There is a Reaper, whose name is Death,
  And, with his sickle keen,
He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,
  And the flowers that grow between. 

"Shall I have naught that is fair?" saith he;
  "Have naught but the bearded grain?
Though the breath of these flowers is sweet to me,
  I will give them all back again."

He gazed at the flowers with tearful eyes,
  He kissed their drooping leaves;
It was for the Lord of Paradise
  He bound them in his sheaves. 

"My Lord has need of these flowerets gay,"
  The Reaper said, and smiled;
"Dear tokens of the earth are they,
  Where He was once a child. 

"They shall all bloom in fields of light,
  Transplanted by my care,
And saints, upon their garments white,
  These sacred blossoms wear." 

And the mother gave, in tears and pain,
  The flowers she most did love;
She knew she should find them all again
  In the fields of light above. 

Oh, not in cruelty, not in wrath,
  The Reaper came that day;
'T was an angel visited the green earth,
  And took the flowers away.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The Reaper and the flowers", 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 Michael William Balfe (1808 - 1870), "The Reaper and the flowers", published >>1858 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Collingwood Banks , "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Blockley (1800 - 1882), "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Frederick Clay (1838 - 1889), "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "The Reaper and the flowers", published >>1877 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ellen Dickson (1819 - 1878), as Dolores, "The Reaper & the Flowers", published 1854 [ voice and piano ], London: Charles Jefferys [sung text not yet checked]
by Luther Orlando Emerson (1820 - 1915), "The Reaper and the flowers" [sung text not yet checked]
by James Fitzgerald , "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Frederic R. Fontein-Tuinhout (1854 - 1909), "The Reaper and the flowers", op. 10 (Three serious songs) no. 2, published 1906 [ alto or bass-baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Carl Hempel , "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Edward Laurence Hime (b. 1823), "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John William Hobbs (1799 - 1877), "The Reaper and the flowers", published 186-? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Marshall (1857 - 1927), "Heavenly blossoms" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Frank Melville , "The Reaper & the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "The Reaper and the flowers" [sung text not yet checked]
by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "The Reaper and the flowers", op. 150 no. 11 (2008) [ baritone and piano ], from Elf Lieder nach Henry W. Longfellow, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
by William Henry Montgomery (1811? - 1886), "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Kathleen O'Reilly , "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ciro Ercole Pinsuti, Il Cavaliere (1829 - 1888), "There is a Reaper" [ vocal trio and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Carl Reinhardt , "The Reaper and the flowers", published 185-? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Henry Stap , "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Rodgers Thomas (1829 - 1896), "The Reaper and the flowers", published 1861 [sung text not yet checked]
by Zeta , "The Reaper and the flowers" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-22
Line count: 28
Word count: 186