Look not in my eyes, for fear

Look not in my eyes, for fear
  They mirror true the sight I see,
And there you find your face too clear
  And love it and be lost like me.
One the long nights through must lie
  Spent in star-defeated sighs,
But why should you as well as I
  Perish? Gaze not in my eyes.

A Grecian lad, as I hear tell,
  One that many loved in vain,
Looked into a forest well
  And never looked away again.
There, when the turf in springtime flowers,
  With downward eye and gazes sad,
Stands amid the glancing showers
  A jonquil, not a Grecian lad.

by Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) , no title, from A Shropshire Lad, no. 15, published 1896

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

by Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989) , "Look not in my eyes", op. 14 no. 3.
by David Branson (1909-) , "Look not in my eyes", published 1939. [mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano]
by George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885-1916) , "Look not in my eyes", published 1911 [voice and piano], from Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad, no. 3.
by Alfred Redgrave Cripps (1882-1950) , "Look not in my eyes, for fear", published <<1944 [voice and piano], from Five "Shropshire Lad" Songs, no. ?
by Thaddeus Gorecki , "Look not in my eyes, for fear", c1933.
by John Ireland (1879-1962) , "Ladslove", published 1921 [voice and piano], from The Land of Lost Content, no. 2.
by John Raynor (1909-1970) , "Look not in my eyes" [baritone and piano]
by Corbett C. Sumsion , "Look not in my eyes", published c1936. [TTBB a cappella]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Gentle Reminder

This project is not funded. If you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated!      - Emily I also have a wishlist at Amazon.ca.

Search/Shop for

Sheet music:

  Search sheetmusicplus.com for Look not in my eyes, for fear, Look not in my eyes, Ladslove, Art song , Lieder, chansons, or works for solo voice
  Search musicroom.com for Look not in my eyes, for fear, Look not in my eyes, Ladslove, vocal/choral music

CDs:

  Search amazon.com for Look not in my eyes, for fear, Look not in my eyes, Ladslove, art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for Look not in my eyes, for fear, Look not in my eyes, Ladslove, art song, Lieder, or chansons

Books:

  The Art of the Song Recital [amazon.com]
  The Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of Over 1000 Songs [amazon.com]
  Search amazon.com for art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for art song, lieder, or chansons

Classical Vocal Repertoire