by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953)
Lady and Queen and Mystery manifold
Language: English
Lady and Queen and Mystery manifold And very regent of the untroubled sky, Whom in a dream Saint Kilda did behold And heard a woodland music passing by: You shall receive me when the clouds are high With evening and the sheep attain the fold. This is the faith that I have held and hold, And this is that in which I mean to die. Steep are the seas and savaging and cold In broken waters terrible to try; And vast against the winter night the wold, And harbourless for any sail to lie. But You shall lead me to the lights, and I Shall hymn You in a harbour story told. This is the faith that I have held and hold, And this is that in which I mean to die. Help of the half-defeated, House of gold, Shrine of the Sword, and Tower of Ivory; Splendour apart, supreme and aureoled, The Battler's vision and the Word's reply. You shall restore me, O my last Ally, To vengeance and the glories of the bold. This is the faith that I have held and hold, And this is that in which I mean to die.
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Text Authorship:
- by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "Ballade to Our Lady of Czestochowa", appears in Sonnets and Verse (1923), first published 1923 [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 Anthony Francis Dominic Milner (b. 1925), "Dusk", published 1959 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Our Lady's Hours [sung text not yet checked]
- by M. L. Taylor , "Hymn to Our Lady", published 1966 [ soprano, chorus, and piano or organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-17
Line count: 24
Word count: 196