Break, break, break

Break, break, break, 
On [thy]1 cold grey stones, O Sea! 
And I would that my tongue could utter 
The thoughts that arise in me. 
[O]2 well for the fisherman's boy, 
That he shouts [with]3 his sister at play! 
[O]2 well for the sailor lad, 
That he sings in his boat on the bay! 
And the stately ships [go]4 on 
To their haven under the hill; 
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand, 
And the sound of a voice that is still! 
Break, break, break, 
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea! 
But the tender grace of a day that is dead 
Will never come back to me.

by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) , no title, from Poems, Volume II, published 1842

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Emanuel A. Aguilar (1824-1904) , "Break, break, break", published 1864. [voice and piano]
by Thomas Anderton (1836-1903) , "Break, break, break", published 1873. [vocal trio and piano]
by David Arditti (1964-) , "Break, break, break", op. 3 no. 1.
by John G. Barnett (1802-1890) , "The song of the sea", alternate title: "Break, break, break", published 1851. [voice and piano]
by Frank Bibb (1887-) , "Break, break, break", published <<1940. [voice and piano]
by John Blockley (1800-1882) , "Break, break", published 1857? [voice (or two voices) and piano]
by (Karl Edmund) Otto von Booth (1842-?) , "Break, break, break", published 1871. [voice and piano]
by Francis Boott (1813-1904) , "O well for the fisherman's boy", published 1857 [voice and piano], from Florence
possibly by William Boyd , "Break, break, break", published 1869 [voice and piano], note: may be by a different W. Boyd
by John Hyatt Brewer (1856-1931) , "Break, break, break", published <<1906. [TTBB and piano]
by Percy Carter Buck (1871-1947) , "Break, break, break", published 1869. [SATB with optional piano]
by Edward Bunnett (1834-1923) , "Break, break, break", published <<1892. [voice and piano]
by Cecil Burleigh (1885-1980) , "Break, break, break", published 1919. [voice and piano]
by Lewis Carey , "Break, break, break", published 1906. [voice and piano]
by Mrs. R. Cartwright , "Stately ships glide on", published 1852. [voice and piano]
by Frederick Arthur Challinor , "Break, break, break", published 1903. [SATB a cappella]
by Henry Clark , "Break, break, break", published 1928. [voice and piano]
by John H. Corina (1928-) , "Break, break, break", 1969 [tenor, oboe, piano], from Sea Songs for Tenor, Oboe, and Piano
possibly by Frank Rowland Cox (1819-1891) , "Break, break, break", published 1858 [voice and piano], note: composer given only as F. R. Cox
by Bainbridge Crist (1883-1969) , "Break, o Sea", published 1948. [SSA and piano]
by Arthur S. Darby , "Break, break, break", published 1928. [voice and piano]
by Eliza Davis (fl. 1895) , "Break, break, break", published <<1892. [voice and piano]
by William Richardson Dempster (1809-1871) , "Break, break, break", published 1864, copyright © 1864. [voice and piano]
by Norman Dinerstein (1937-) , "Break, break, break", 1960, first performed 1960 [mezzo-soprano and violoncello], from Two Settings on Texts of Alfred Lord Tennyson
by Charles A. A. Düring , "Break, break, break", published 1873. [voice and piano]
by E[dwin?] Edwards , "Break, break, break", published 1872. [voice and piano]
by Patrick Keen Enfield (1929-) , "Break, break, break", published 1961 [TTBB a cappella], from Three Victorian Lyrics
by John Axel Fernström (1897-1961) , "Break, break, break", op. 62 no. 1 (1942) [coloratura soprano and string quintet or orchestra], from Songs of the Sea, no. 1.
by David Foltz , "Break, break, break", published 1964. [TTBB a cappella]
by A. F. Frere , "Break, break, break", published 1867. [voice and piano]
by Stephen Ralph Glover (1812-1870) , "Break, break, break", published <<1892. [voice and piano]
by Robert Goldbeck (1839-1908) , "Break, break, break on thy cold grey stones, o Sea", published 1870. [voice and piano]
by Claude Haydon (1884-1960) , "Break, break, break" [SATB a cappella]
by (Isador) George Henschel (1850-1934) , "Break, break, break", published 1880 [voice and piano], from Songs from the published writings of Alfred Tennyson
by Henry Hiles (1826-1904) , "Break! break!", published 1892. [SATB a cappella]
by Sidney Homer (1864-1953) , "Break, break, break", op. 6 (Eight Poems by Tennyson) no. 1, published 1901. [voice and piano]
possibly by E. Ellice Jewell (fl. 1880) , "Break, break, break", published 1869 [voice and piano], composer given as E. Jewell
by E. Ellice Jewell (fl. 1880) , "Break, break, break", published 1869. [voice and piano]
by Frederic Kurzweil , "Break, break, break", published 1959. [SATB a cappella]
by Louis Lavater (1867-1953) , "Break, break", published 1925. [voice and piano]
by Henry George Ley (1887-) , "Break, break, break", op. 8 no. ?, first performed 1919. [voice and piano]
by Toupie Lowther , "Break, break, break", published 1901. [voice and piano]
by George Alexander MacFarren (1813-1887) , "Break, break on the cold grey stones", published 1867. [SATB and piano]
by Edward B. Manning (1874-1948) , "Break, break, break", published 1902.
by Easthope Martin (-1925) , "Break, break, break", published 1915 [voice and piano], from Five Concert Songs
by Russell Hancock Miles (1895-) , "Break, break, break", published 1949. [SSAATTBB and two pianos]
by Cecil Moore , "Break, break, break", published c1934-5. [voice and piano]
by J. More , "Break, break, break", published 1855. [voice and piano]
by W. H. Mudie , "Break, break, break", published 1909. [mixed chorus and piano]
by Myra , "Break, break, break", published 1861. [voice and piano]
by William Harold Neidlinger (1863-1924) , "Break, break, break", published c1906 or <<1906. [mixed chorus]
by Herbert Stanley Oakeley (1830-1903) , "Break, break, break", 1858. [voice and piano]
by E. O'Beirne , "Break, break, break", published 1904. [alto or baritone and piano]
by Albert R. Parsons , "Break, break, break", published <<1929. [voice and piano]
by John P. Paynter , "Break, break, break", published 1954. [SATB a cappella]
by Alfred Humphries (or Humphreys) Pease (1838-1882) , "Break, break, break", published 1862. [voice and piano]
by A. J. Pecket , "O for the touch", published 1861. [voice and piano]
by A. A. Pollock , "Remembrance", published 1861. [voice and piano]
by Arthur Ray , "Break, break, break", published 1890. [voice and piano]
possibly by Alfred Madeley Richardson (1868-?) , "Break, break, break", published 1908 [SSA and piano ad libitum], composer given only as A. M. Richardson
by Roland Rogers (1847-1927) , "Break, break, break, on thy cold grey stones", published 1904. [ATTB a cappella]
by Cyril Bradley Rootham (1875-1938) , "Break, break, break", c1904-8. [TTBB a cappella]
by Stuart Ross , "Break, break, break", published 1944. [medium voice and piano]
by James Shaw (1842-?) , "Break, break, break", published <<1892. [voice and piano]
by Peter Pindar Stearns (1931-) , "Break, break, break", 1951. [high voice and piano]
by (Mr.) M. Stydolf , "Break, break, break", published c1886 [voice and piano], from Five Songs, from the Works of the English Poets, &c
by Emily Tennyson, née Sellwood (1813-1896) , "Break, break, break", published 1897? [voice and piano], arranged for publication by Natalie Janotha
by Eric Harding Thiman (1900-1975) , "Break, break, break", published 1957 [SSA and piano], from Six Sea Songs
by J. G. Veaco , "Break, break, break", published 1891. [voice and piano]
by Richard Henry Walthew (1872-1951) , "Break, break, break", published 1898 [voice and piano], from Album of Twelve Songs
by Maurice C. Whitney (1909-) , "Break, break, break", published 1968. [SATB or SSA and piano]
by Charles Lee Williams (1852?-1935) , "Break, break, break", published 1926. [SATB a cappella]
by Edmund Yates , "Break, break, break", published 1919. [soprano, mezzo-soprano, and piano]
by Zeta , "Break, break, break", published 1850. [voice and piano]

by Alexander Winterberger (1834-1914) , "Schwer, schwer, schwer", published <<1892. [voice and piano]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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