An African Love Song

  My heart to thy heart,
    My hand to thine;
  My lip to thy lips,
    Kisses are wine
Brewed for the lover in sunshine and shade;
Let me drink deep, then, my African maid.

  Lily to lily,
    Rose unto rose;
  My love to thy love
    Tenderly grows.
Rend not the oak and the ivy in twain,
Nor the swart maid from her swarthier swain.

Authorship

by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) , "Song", from Majors and Minors, published 1895

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

by Harry G. Bull , "An African Love Song", published 1954. [voice and piano]
by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) , "An African Love Song", op. 17 (African Romances) no. 1, published 1897. [high voice and piano]
by Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (1862-1901) , "An African Love Song", published 1901. [voice and piano]

Text added to the website: 2008-07-27.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

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Classical Vocal Repertoire