When you are old

When you are old and gray and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false [or]1 true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead 
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) , "When you are old", from The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, published 1892

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

by Gary Bachlund , "The Pilgrim Soul", 1999, stanzas 1-2. [high voice and piano]
by Garth Baxter (1946-) , "When you are old" [voice and piano], from Four Views of Love, no. 1.
by Frank Bridge (1879-1941) , "When you are old", published 1920, stanzas 1-2. [voice and piano]
by Doreen Droste , "When you are old", published 1968. [SATB chorus and piano]
by John Fearing , "When you are old", published 1968. [medium voice and piano]
by Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) , "When you are old and grey", c1909. [voice and piano]
by Walter Mourant (1910-) , "When you are old" [medium voice and piano]
by Vittorio Rieti (1898-1994) , "When you are old (A barcarolle)", published 1964 [mezzo-soprano and piano], from Two Songs Between Two Waltzes, no. 2.
by Tom Vernon Ritchie (1922-) , "When you are old and gray" [voice and piano]
by John Tavener (1944-) , "When you are old", 1984 [soprano and piano], from Song Cycle for Gina, no. 1.
by Raymond Warren (1928-) , "When you are old", 1965 [tenor and guitar], from The Pity of Love, no. ?
by Graham Whettam (1927-) , "When you are old", rev. 1973, first performed 1967 [high voice and piano], from Three Songs to Poems of W. B. Yeats, no. ?, note: name of song cycle was originally Three Songs from "The Rose"
by Yehudi Wyner (1929-) , "When you are old"

ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani)

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