Who says That it's by my desire, This separation, this living so far from you? My dress still smells of the [lavender you gave me]1: My hand still holds the letter [you]2 sent. Round my waist I wear a double sash: I dream that it binds us both with [a]3 same-heart knot. Did not you know that people hide their love, Like [the]4 flower that seems too precious to be picked?
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
View original text (without footnotes)1 Berkeley: "perfume that you wore"
2 Berkeley: "that you"
3 Berkeley: "the"
4 Berkeley: "a"
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969), "People hide their love", appears in Translations from the Chinese, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., first published 1941 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty (464 - 549) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "People hide their love", op. 78 no. 1 (1971) [ voice and piano ], from Five Chinese Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927), "People hide their love", 1965, published 1976 [ high voice and harp or piano ], from Four Chinese Love-Poems, no. 1, Seesaw Music Corp./Subito [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-02-08
Line count: 9
Word count: 71