The spring, my dear

The spring, my dear,
Is no longer spring.
Does the blackbird sing
What he sang last year?
Are the skies the old
Immemorial blue?
Or am I, or are you,
Grown cold?

Though life be change,
It is hard to bear
When the old sweet air
Sounds forced and strange.
To be out of tune,
Plain You and I . . .
It were better to die,
And soon!

by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) , no title, from A Book of Verses, published 1888

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

by (Mary) Frances Allitsen, née Bumpus (1848-1912) , "The spring, my dear", <<1912, from Spring contrasts, no. ?
by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874-1949) , "The spring, my dear, is no longer spring", op. 26 (Seven songs) no. 2 (1917). [voice and piano]
by Courtlandt Palmer (1872-1951) , "Last year", c1920. [voice and piano]
by Landon Ronald (1873-1938) , "The spring, my dear", published 1908 [voice and piano], from Echoes, no. ?

Date added to the website: 2008-12-10.

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Books:

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Classical Vocal Repertoire