The folly of being comforted

One that is ever kind said yesterday:
"Your well-beloved's hair has threads of grey,
And little shadows come about her eyes;
Time can but make it easier to be wise,
Though now it's hard, till trouble is at an end;
And so be patient, be wise and patient, friend."
But, heart, there is no comfort, not a grain;
Time can but make her beauty over again,
Because of that great nobleness of hers;
The fire that stirs about her, when she stirs,
Burns but more clearly. O she had not these ways,
When all the wild summer was in her gaze.
O heart! O heart! If she'd but turn her head,
You'd know the folly of being comforted.

by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) , "The folly of being comforted", from In the Seven Woods, published 1904

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

by Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) , "The folly of being comforted", 1911?
by Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) , "The folly of being comforted", published 1938. [voice and piano]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Sheet music:

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