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 LoveText Authorship:
- 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