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by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)

Tears
Language: English 
Thank God, bless God, all ye who suffer not
More grief than ye can weep for. That is well--
That is light grieving ! lighter, none befell
Since Adam forfeited the primal lot.
Tears ! what are tears ? The babe weeps in its cot,
The mother singing, at her marriage-bell
The bride weeps, and before the oracle
Of high-faned hills the poet has forgot
Such moisture on his cheeks. Thank God for grace,
Ye who weep only ! If, as some have done,
Ye grope tear-blinded in a desert place
And touch but tombs,--look up I those tears will run
Soon in long rivers down the lifted face,
And leave the vision clear for stars and sun.

Authorship:

  • by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), "Tears", appears in Poems, Volume I, first published 1844 [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 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "Tears", op. 42 no. 2, published 1900 [ alto and orchestra or piano ], from The Soul's Expression, no. 2, London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Guchaninow , "Tears", 1916? [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Russell G. Harris (b. 1914), "Tears", 1944 [ high voice, 2 violins, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, cymbals, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-04-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 118

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