by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903)
From the brake the Nightingale
Language: English
From the brake the Nightingale Sings exulting to the Rose; Though he sees her waxing pale In her passionate repose While she triumphs waxing frail, Fading even while she glows; Though he knows How it goes - Knows of last year's Nightingale, Dead with last year's Rose. Wise the enamoured Nightingale, Wise the well-beloved Rose! Love and life shall still prevail, Nor the silence at the close Break the magic of the tale In the telling, though it shows - Who but knows How it goes! Life a last year's Nightingale, Love a last year's Rose.
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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 Sidney Homer (1864 - 1953), "From the brake the nightingale", op. 17 (Four Songs) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "A last year's rose", op. 14 (Four Songs) no. 3, published 1910 [ high voice and piano ], London, Boosey [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wintter Haynes Watts (1884 - 1962), "The nightingale and the rose", 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 94