She walks -- the lady of my delight -- 
   A shepherdess of sheep.
Her flocks are thoughts. She keeps them white;
   She guards them from the steep;
She feeds them on the fragrant height,
   And folds them in for sleep.
 
She roams maternal hills and bright,
   Dark valleys safe and deep.
Into that tender breast at night
   The chastest stars may peep.
She walks -- the lady of my delight -- 
   A shepherdess of sheep.
 
She holds her little thoughts in sight,
   Though gay they run and leap.
She is so circumspect and right;
   She has her soul to keep.
She walks -- the lady of my delight -- 
   A shepherdess of sheep.

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: originally titled "The Lady of the Lambs"

Text Authorship:

• by Alice Christina Meynell (1847 - 1922), "The shepherdess", appears in Later Poems, first published 1902 [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 Ivor Algernon Atkins (1869 - 1953), "The shepherdess", published c1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Stanley R. Avery (1879 - ?), "The shepherdess", published <<1929 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Alice M. Bleadon , "The shepherdess", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ], from Two songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Margaret Campbell Bruce , "The shepherdess", published 1952 [ tenor or unison chorus and piano ], note: may be incorrect text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
• by Phyllis Campbell (1891 - 1974), "The shepherdess", copyright © 2018 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Greville Cook , "The shepherdess", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Victor Edward Galway , "The shepherdess of sheep", published 1937 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Edward Horsman (1873 - 1918), "The shepherdess", published <<1929 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wynn Hunt (b. 1910), "The shepherdess" [ SATB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Dermot MacMurrough , "The shepherdess", published 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Reginald Chauncey Robbins (1871 - 1955), "The shepherdess", published c1922 [ bass or alto or baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hugh Stevenson Roberton, Sir (1874 - 1952), "The shepherdess", published 1917 [ SSA chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Lionel Salter (1914 - 2000), "The shepherdess", published 1947 [ tenor and piano or orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by David Stanley Smith (1877 - 1949), "The lady of the lambs", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Bryceson Treharne (1879 - 1948), "The lady of my delight", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Harold Ernest Watts , "The shepherdess", published 1938 [ SA chorus or SS chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-02-02
Line count: 18
Word count: 107