by
Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Peace be around thee
Language: English
Peace be around thee, wherever thou rovest;
May life be for thee one summer's day,
And all that thou wishest, and all that thou lovest,
Come smiling around thy sunny way!
If sorrow e'er this calm should break,
May even thy tears pass off so lightly;
Like [spring-showers]1, they'll only make
The smiles that follow shine more brightly!
May Time, who sheds his blight o'er all,
And daily dooms some joy to death,
[O'er]2 thee let years so [gently]3 fall
They shall not crush one flower beneath!
As half in shade and half in sun,
This world along its path advances,
May that side the sun's upon
Be all that e'er shall meet thy glances!
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• A. Needham View text without footnotes
1 Needham: "sweet spring show'rs"
2 Needham: "On"
3 Needham: "lightly"
Text 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 Frederic Hymen Cowen, Sir (1852 - 1935), "Peace be around thee", published 1898 [ voice and piano ], from Third Set of Six Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rosalind Frances Ellicott (1857 - 1924), "Peace be around thee", published 1889 [ four-part chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alicia Adélaïda Needham (1863 - 1945), "Peace be around thee", published 1904 [ SATB quartet with piano ], from A Bunch of Shamrocks , no. 9, London: Boosey & Co. [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Que la paix t'entoure", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Guy Laffaille
[Guest Editor] , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2007-09-23
Line count: 16
Word count: 119
Que la paix t'entoure
Language: French (Français) after the English
Que la paix t'entoure, où que tu ailles ;
Que la vie soit pour toi comme un jour d'été,
Et que tout ce que tu désires, tout ce que tu aimes,
Vienne souriant sur ton chemin ensoleillé !
Si jamais le chagrin venait à briser ce calme,
Puissent même tes larmes s'évanouir légèrement ;
Telles des averses printanières, elles ne feront que rendre
Les sourires qui suivront encore plus éclatants !
Que le Temps, qui répand son mal sur tout,
Et condamne chaque jour quelque joie à la mort,
Laisse les années s’écouler si doucement sur toi
Qu’elles n’écraseront pas une seule fleur !
Comme à demi dans l’ombre , à demi au soleil,
Ce monde avance sur son chemin,
Que ce côté où brille le soleil
Soit tout ce que ton regard à jamais rencontrera !
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2026 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2026-06-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 131
