by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
When all is done
Language: English
When all is done, and my last word is said, And ye who loved me murmur, "He is dead," Let no one weep, for fear that I should know, And sorrow too that ye should sorrow so. When all is done and in the oozing clay, Ye lay this cast-off hull of mine away, Pray not for me, for, after long despair, The quiet of the grave will be a prayer. For I have suffered loss and grievous pain, The hurts of hatred and the world's disdain, And wounds so deep that love, well-tried and pure, Had not the pow'r to ease them or to cure. When all is done, say not my day is o'er, And that thro' night I seek a dimmer shore: Say rather that my morn has just begun, -- I greet the dawn and not a setting sun, When all is done.
Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "When all is done", appears in Lyrics of the Hearthside, first published 1899 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "When all is done", 2010 [medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wynn Leo Boyd (b. 1902), "When all is done", published 1964 [voice and piano], in American Art Songs [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-27
Line count: 17
Word count: 146