I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "I never saw a moor", from My Letter to the world, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leonard Berkowitz (b. 1926), "I never saw a moor", published 1968 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Four Songs on Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Farwell (1872 - 1952), "I never saw a moor", op. 105 no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Isadore Freed (1900 - 1960), "Chartless", published 1946 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Helen Sewall Leavitt (1880/90 - ?), "Chartless" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Muczynski (1929 - 2010), "I never saw a moor" [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Charles Sacco (1905 - 1987), "Revelation", published 1941 [ high voice, piano ], from Three Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Pearson Thomas (b. 1957), "I never saw a moor" [ voice and piano ], from At last, to be identified, no. 4, confirmed with a concert program [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Adolf Weiss (1891 - 1971), "Chartless", 1928, published c1930 [ soprano and string quartet ], from Seven Songs for Soprano and String Quartet, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Mai vidi una brughiera", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 45
Mai vidi una brughiera
Né vidi mai il mare;
eppure conosco la forma dell'erica
e so come deve essere un'onda.
Non parlai mai con Dio
Né ho visitato il cielo;
eppure sono certa del posto
quasi ne possedessi il biglietto.
