'Tis better to have loved and lost

I envy not in any moods
   The captive void of noble rage,
   The linnet born within the cage,
That never knew the summer woods:

I envy not the beast that takes
   His license in the field of time,
   Unfetter'd by the sense of crime,
To whom a conscience never wakes;

Nor, what may count itself as blest,
   The heart that never plighted troth
   But stagnates in the weeds of sloth;
Nor any want-begotten rest.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
   I feel it, when I sorrow most;
   'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) , no title, 1849, from In Memoriam A. H. H. obiit MDCCCXXXIII, no. 27, published 1850

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

by Maude Valérie White (1855-1937) , "'Tis better to have loved and lost", published 1885. [voice and piano]

Date added to the website: 2009-01-12.

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