by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)
Why were you born when the snow was...
Language: English
Why were you born when the snow was falling? You should have come to the cuckoo's calling Or when grapes are green in the cluster, Or, at least, when lithe swallows muster For their far off flying From summer dying. Why did you die when the lambs were cropping? You should have died at the apples' dropping, When the grasshopper comes to trouble, And the wheat-fields are sodden stubble, And all winds go sighing For sweet things dying.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Argosy, January 1874Authorship:
- by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "A dirge" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "A lament", published 1909 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Michael (Dewar) Head (1900 - 1976), "Love's lament", 1918, published 1919 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Daniel Kellogg (b. 1976), "Winter lullaby" [ chorus ], glee [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "A winter lullaby", alternate title: "Winter lullaby" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mabel Nightingale Woodward (1876 - 1911), "A dirge", published 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Songs, no. 19, Birmingham : Press of the Birmingham Printers [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 78