by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
Though you were at a distance
Language: English
Though you were at a distance, Were upon some far-off island, Such the spell I cast upon you, Such the magic power of passion, I could straightway draw you to me ! Though you were far from me In the land of Sleep and Silence, Still the voice of love would reach you ! Naked lies your heart before me, To your naked heart I whisper!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, London: Frederick Warne, 1889, page 293. Note: the text above is an excerpt from chapter XIV., "Picture-Writing". Many prose lines between the words of the song have been removed.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), no title, appears in The Song of Hiawatha [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 Evelyn Hope Squire (1878 - 1936), "Though you were at a distance", published 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Two Red Indian Love Songs, no. 2, Elkin and Co [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-03-29
Line count: 10
Word count: 64