After (Elgar)

”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

AFTER

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

References