Tender only to one Tender and true The petals swing To my fingering Is it you, or you, or you? Tender only to one I do not know his name And the friends who fall To the petals' call May think my love to blame. Tender only to one This petal holds a clue The face it shows But too well knows Who I am tender to. Tender only to one, Last petal's latest breath Cries out aloud From the icy shroud His name, his name is Death.
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Text Authorship:
- by Stevie Smith (1903 - 1971), "Tender only to one", appears in Tender Only to One [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 Robin Holloway (b. 1943), "Tender only to one", op. 12 no. ? (1968-9) [ soprano, unaccompanied ], from Tender Only to One [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-02-19
Line count: 20
Word count: 88