The Rosebush
Language: English
A child sleeps under a [rose-bush]1 fair, The buds swell out in the soft May air; Sweetly it rests, and on dream-wings flies To play with the angels in Paradise. [And the years glide by]2. A maiden stands by the rose-bush fair. The dewy blossoms perfume the air. She presses her hand to her throbbing breast, With love's first wonderful rapture blest: [And the years glide by]2. A Mother kneels by the rose-bush fair, Soft sigh the leaves in the evening air. Sorrowing thoughts of the past arise, And tears of anquish bedim her eyes. [And the years glide by]2. Naked and [lone]3 stands the rose-bush [fair]2, Whirl'd are the leaves in the autumn air, Wither'd and dead and dead they fall to the ground, And silently cover a new-made mound: [And the years glide by]2.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Webster: "Rosebush", passim.
2 omitted by Webster.
3 Webster: "alone"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
1 Webster: "Rosebush", passim.
2 omitted by Webster.
3 Webster: "alone"
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Faustina Hasse Hodges (1823 - 1895), "The rose bush", published 1881 [voice and piano], N.Y. : G. Schirmer [text not verified]
- by Joseph Philbrick Webster (1819 - 1875), "The Rosebush", published 1876. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-20
Line count: 20
Word count: 136