by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Why are we weigh'd upon with heaviness
Language: English
Why are we weigh'd upon with heaviness, And utterly consum'd with sharp distress, While all things else have rest from weariness? All things have rest: why should we toil alone, We only toil, who are the first of things, And make perpetual moan, Still from one sorrow to another thrown: Nor never fold our wings, And cease from wanderings, Nor steep our brows in slumber's holy balm; Nor harken what the inner spirit sings, "There is no joy but calm!" Why should we only toil, the roof and crown of things?
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Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in Poems, in The Lotos-Eaters, in Choric Song, no. 2, first published 1832 [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 William Amps (fl. 1850), "Why are we weighed upon with heaviness?", published 1849 [vocal quartet], from Six Vocal Quartetts [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-08
Line count: 13
Word count: 91