Home‑thoughts, from abroad

Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!!

And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge -
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
- Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

by Robert Browning (1812-1889) , "Home-thoughts, from abroad", from Bells and Pomegranates, No. VII, published 1845

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

by Frederic Austin (1872-1952) , "Home-thoughts, from abroad", published 1909. [high voice and piano]
by Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (1868-1946) , "Home-thoughts", 1920, published 1920 [voice and piano], from Dramatic Lyrics Set I, no. 5.
by May Hanna Brahe (1884-1956) , "Oh, to be in England", published 1915, stanza 1 [medium voice and piano], from Two songs, no. ?
by Reginald B. Clarke , "Home-thoughts, from abroad", published 1903, lines 1-16. [high voice and piano]
by Greville Cooke , "Oh, to be in England", published 1928. [SSAATTBB chorus a cappella]
by J. Crawford , "Home-thoughts, from abroad", published 1871. [four-part chorus]
by Alma Goatley , "Now that April's there", published 1917 [soprano or tenor and piano], from Two songs, no. ?
by Michael Head (1900-1976) , "Oh to be in England", published 1960. [voice and piano]
by Daisy Hinkle , "Home-thoughts, from abroad", 1928, stanza 1. [mezzo-soprano and piano]
by Paul Kerby , "Oh, to be in England", published <<1940. [voice and piano]
by Alec Rowley (1892-1958) , "Oh, to be in England", stanza 1. [vocal duet with piano]
by Bertram Shapleigh (1871-1940) , "Oh, to be in England", published 1906, lines 1-16 [alto and piano], from Three English Songs, no. ?
by Maude Valérie White (1855-1937) , "Home-thoughts, from abroad", published 1885. [medium-high voice and piano]
by Grace White , "Home-thoughts, from abroad", published 1917 [violin and piano], from Three Descriptions from Browning, no. ?
by Florence Wickins , "Oh, to be in England", published 1903. [mezzo-soprano, baritone, and piano]
by Alec Wilson , "Oh, to be in England", published 1908, lines 1-16. [high voice and piano]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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