Nobody knows this little rose (Dickinson, set by (John Woods Duke, William Roy)) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

Nobody knows this little rose

Language: English

Available translation(s): GER

Nobody knows this little rose,
It might a pilgrim be.
Did I not take it from the ways
And lift it up to thee.

Only a bee will miss it,
Only a butterfly,
Hastening from far journey
On its breast to lie.

Only a bird will wonder,
Only a breeze will sigh,
Ah, little rose, how easy
For such as thee to die!

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Bolts of Melody, first published 1945 [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 John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Nobody knows this little Rose", 1968, published 1978 [soprano and piano], from Six Poems by Emily Dickinson, no. 5, Southern Music Publishing Co. Inc., New York and Peer Musikverlag GMbH, Hamburg [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by William Roy (1928 - 2003), "This little rose", published 1947. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

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: 12
Word count: 63