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The Self Banished

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"The Self Banished" is a poem written by Edmund Waller in about 1645, and is one of the first songs written by the English composer Edward Elgar. It was written in 1875, and specifically for "soprano or tenor". It is unpublished.

Lyrics

THE SELF BANISHED

It is not that I love you less
Than when before your feet I lay:
But to prevent the sad increase
Of hopeless love, I keep away.
In vain! (alas!) for ev'ry thing
Which I have known belong to you,[1]
Your form does to my fancy bring,
And makes my old wounds bleed anew.
Who in the Spring from the new Sun
Already has a fever got,
Too late begins those shafts to shun,
Which Phoebus through his veins has shot.
Too late he would the pain assuage,
And to shadows thick he doth retire;
About with him he bears the pain,[2]
And in his tainted blood the fire.
Abscence is vain for ev'ry thing
That I have known belong to you,
Your form does to my fancy bring,
And makes my old wounds bleed anew.[3]
But vow'd I have, and never must
Your banish'd servant trouble you;
For if I break, you may mistrust[4]
The vow I made to love you, too.

Recordings

References

  1. ^ Note belong not belongs. It is the subjunctive of the verb.
  2. ^ Elgar's error: his pain should be rage
  3. ^ This verse was added (with curious spelling) by Elgar
  4. ^ Elgar puts "mistrust" where the original has "distrust"
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