by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
The Ballad Singer
Language: English
Sing, Ballad-singer, raise a hearty tune; Make me forget that there was ever a one I walked with in the meek light of the moon When the day's work was done. Rhyme, Ballad-rhymer, start a country song; Make me forget that she whom I loved well Swore she would love me dearly, love me long, Then - what I cannot tell! Sing, Ballad-singer, from your little book; Make me forget those heart-breaks, achings, fears; Make me forget her name, her sweet sweet look - Make me forget her tears.
First published in Cornhill Magazine, April 1902, revised 1909
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Authorship
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The Ballad-Singer", appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, in At Casterbridge Fair, no. 1 [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 Arnold Atkinson Cooke (1906 - 2005), "The Ballad-singer" [ baritone and piano ], from Country Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Andrew Downes (b. 1950), "The Ballad Singer", op. 1 no. 1 (1973), from Casterbridge Fair, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederic Goossen (b. 1927), "The Ballad-Singer" [ duet for mezzo-soprano and baritone with piano ], from At Casterbridge Fair, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Matthew Hale (1875 - 1960), "The Ballad-Singer", op. 27 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from At Casterbridge Fair, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "The Ballad Singer", 2006 [ baritone and piano ], from Julie Jane -- 5 songs for Baritone and Piano, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lori Laitman (b. 1955), "The Ballad Singer", 1995 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Donald Waxman (b. 1925), "The ballad singer", published 1960 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Eight songs : for a cappella chorus from poems of Thomas Hardy, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 89