by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
If I can stop one heart from breaking
Language: English
If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.
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Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890 [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 Floy Little Bartlett (b. 1883), "I shall not live in vain", published 1915 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "If I can stop one heart from breaking", 2008 [ voice and piano ], from I'm Nobody!, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gloria Coates (b. 1938), "If I can stop one heart from breaking", from 15 Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson, no. 14 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Hageman (1882 - 1966), "Charity", published 1921 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork (b. 1941), "In vain", 1993 [ soprano and piano ], from Three Simple Songs, no. 1, from Summer. Life. Song. -- 2. Life Songs, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jake Heggie (b. 1961), "I shall not live in vain", 1995, rev. 1998, first performed 1998 [ mezzo-soprano, girls' chorus (SA), handbells, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Brodbin Kennedy , "If I can stop one heart from breaking", published 1966 [ SS chorus a cappella ], from Sails, Robins, and Butterflies [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jitka Koželuhová (b. 1966), "I shall not live in vain", 1991-92, copyright © 1997 [ soprano and piano ], from Six Songs on Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lori Laitman (b. 1955), "If I...", 1996 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Four Dickinson Songs, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Otto Luening (1900 - 1996), "If I can stop one heart from breaking", published 1961 [ medium voice and piano ], from Songs to Poems of Emily Dickinson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Christian Lutkin (1858 - 1931), "If I can stop one heart from breaking" [ chorus ], hymn ; note: has an optional stanza by Earl Marlatt (unavailable) [sung text not yet checked]
- by James G. MacDermid , "If I can stop one heart from breaking", published 1908 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Janie Alexander Patterson , "Not in vain", published 1944 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vincent Persichetti (1915 - 1987), "Robin", op. 68 (Hymns and Responses) no. 3, published 1956 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Oley Speaks (1874 - 1948), "Charity", published 1911 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Earl Towner (1890 - ?), "Not in vain" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joel Weiss , "If I can stop one heart from breaking", 2014 [ mezzo-soprano and viola ], from I Shall not Live in Vain, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , appears in Kinder-Lieder, in 2. Lieder und Bilder aus der Natur, copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Se riuscirò a impedire", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 7
Word count: 41