by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903)
On the way to Kew
Language: English
On the way to Kew, By the river old and gray, Where in the Long Ago We laughed and loitered so, I met a ghost today, A ghost that told of you - A ghost of low replies and sweet, inscrutable eyes Coming up from Richmond As you used to do. By the river old and gray, The enchanted Long Ago Murmured and smiled anew. On the way to Kew, March had the laugh of May, The bare boughs looked aglow, And old, immortal words Sang in my breast like birds, Coming up from Richmond As I used to do. With the life of Long ago Lived my thought of you By the river old and gray, Flowing his appointed way As I watched I knew what is so good To know: Not in vain, not in vain, Shall I look for you again Coming up from Richmond On the way to Kew.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903), no title, appears in A Book of Verses, first published 1888 [author's text not yet checked 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 George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885 - 1916), "On the way to Kew
", 1911-12 [baritone and string quartet], from Love blows as the wind blows, no. 4. [text verified 1 time]
- by Robert Coningsby Clarke (1879 - 1934), "On the way to Kew", published 1921. [voice, piano] [text not verified]
- by Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "On the way to Kew", copyright © 1894 [mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano], Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt [text not verified]
- by (James) Albert Mallinson (1870 - 1946), "On the way to Kew", published 1907. [soprano or tenor and piano] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 29
Word count: 152