by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)
Once only by the garden gate
Language: English
Once only by the garden gate Our lips we joined and parted. I must fulfil an empty fate And travel the uncharted. Hail and farewell! I must arise, Leave here the fatted cattle, And paint on foreign lands and skies My Odyssey of battle. The untented Kosmos my abode, I pass, a wilful stranger: My mistress still the open road And the bright eyes of danger. Come ill or well, the cross, the crown, The rainbow or the thunder, I fling my soul and body down For God to plough them under.
About the headline (FAQ)
Gerard Graham Peel may have used this text for his setting Youth and LoveAuthorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Youth and Love I", appears in Songs of Travel and other verses, no. 2, first published 1896 [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 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "Once only", published 1906 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-11-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 92