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After (Elgar)
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Wikipedia article
'"After"' is a song written by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1895, as his Op. 31, No. 1, with the words from a poem by Philip Bourke Marston.
The manuscript is dated 21 June 1895.
The song was first performed by the Irish baritone Harry Plunket Greene in St. James's Hall on 2 March 1900, together with A Song of Flight, Op. 31, No. 2.
Lyrics
A little time for laughter,
A little time to sing,
A little time to kiss and cling,
And no more kissing after.
A little while for scheming
Love's unperfected schemes;
A little time for golden dreams,
Then no more any dreaming.
A little while 'twas given
To me to have thy love;
Now, like a ghost, alone I move
About a ruined heaven.
A little time for speaking
Things sweet to say and hear;
A time to seek, and find thee near,
Then no more any seeking.
A little time for saying
Words the heart breaks to say;
A short, sharp time wherein to pray,
Then no more need for praying;
But long, long years to weep in,
And comprehend the whole
Great grief, that desolates the soul,
And eternity to sleep in.
Recordings
*[http://www.emusic.com/album/The-Works-Songs-Piano-Music-By-Edward-Elgar-MP3-Download/11044195.html Songs and Piano Music by Edward Elgar] has "After" performed by Amanda Pitt (soprano), with David Owen Norris (piano).
References
*Banfield, Stephen, 'Sensibility and English Song: Critical studies of the early 20th century' (Cambridge University Press, 1985)
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