I never saw a moor

I never saw a moor

Language: English

Available translation(s): FRE GER GER ITA

I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.

I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given.

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship:

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890 [author's text not yet checked 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 Ronald A. Beckett , "I never saw a moor", from My Letter to the world, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Leonard Berkowitz (b. 1926), "I never saw a moor", published 1968 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Four Songs on Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Arthur Farwell (1872 - 1952), "I never saw a moor", op. 105 no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Isadore Freed (1900 - 1960), "Chartless", published 1946 [sung text not yet checked]
by Helen Sewall Leavitt (1880/90 - ?), "Chartless" [sung text not yet checked]
by Robert Muczynski (1929 - 2010), "I never saw a moor" [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Charles Sacco (1905 - 1987), "Revelation", published 1941 [ high voice, piano ], from Three Songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Richard Pearson Thomas (b. 1957), "I never saw a moor" [ voice and piano ], from At last, to be identified, no. 4, confirmed with a concert program [sung text checked 1 time]
by Adolf Weiss (1891 - 1971), "Chartless", 1928, published c1930 [ soprano and string quartet ], from Seven Songs for Soprano and String Quartet, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 45