The nearer the fountain More pure the stream flows
And sweeter to fancy
The bud of the rose,
And now thou'rt in heaven
More pure is the birth
Of thoughts that wake of thee
Than aught upon earth.
As a bud green in spring,
As a rose blown in June,
Thy beauty looked out
And departed as soon;
Heaven saw thee too fair For earth's tenants of clay
And ere age did thee wrong
Thou wert summoned away.
I know thou art happy,
Why in grief need I be?
Yet I am and the more so To feel it's for thee,
For thy presence possessed
As thy absence destroyed
The most that I loved
And the all I enjoyed.
So I try to seek pleasure But vainly I try
Now joy's cup is drained And hope's fountain is dry;
I mix with the living, Yet what do I see?
Only more cause for sorrow In losing of thee.
The year has its winter
As well as its May,
So the sweetest must leave us And the fairest decay;
Suns leave us tonight
And their light none may borrow
So joy retreats from us
Overtaken by sorrow.
The sun greets the spring And the blossom the bee,
The grass the blea hill And the leaf the bare tree,
But suns nor yet seasons As sweet as they be
Shall ever more greet me
With tidings of thee.
The voice of the cuckoo
Is merry at noon
And the song of the nightingale
Gladdens the moon,
But the gayest today May be saddest tomorrow
And the loudest in joy
Sink the deepest in sorrow.
For the lovely in death
And the fairest must die,
Fall once and forever Like stars from the sky;
So in vain do I mourn thee,
I know it's in vain,
Who would wish thee from joy To earth's troubles again
Yet thy love shed upon me Life more than mine own,
And now thou art from me
My being is gone;
Words know not my grief
Thus without thee to dwell,
Yet in one I felt all
When life bade thee farewell
[00:00.46]Love And Memory [00:01.27] [00:02.63]By John Clare [00:03.38] [00:05.40]Thou art gone the dark journey [00:06.85] [00:07.78]That leaves no returning; [00:09.00] [00:11.65]'Tis fruitless to mourn thee [00:13.17] [00:14.81]But who can help mourning [00:15.99] [00:17.34]To think of the life [00:18.34] [00:18.68]That did laugh on thy brow [00:20.16] [00:20.57]In the beautiful past [00:21.69] [00:22.67]Left so desolate now [00:24.14] [00:25.82]When youth seemed immortal, [00:27.07] [00:28.25]So sweet did it weave [00:29.74] [00:30.92]Heaven's halo around thee [00:32.60] [00:34.56]Earth's hopes to deceive; [00:36.16] [00:37.59]Thou fairest and dearest [00:39.43]Where many were fair, [00:40.56] [00:41.29]To my heart thou art nearest [00:43.49] [00:45.66]Though this name is but there. [00:47.99] [00:50.27]The nearer the fountain [00:51.38]More pure the stream flows [00:53.10] [00:53.88]And sweeter to fancy [00:55.10] [00:55.44]The bud of the rose, [00:56.57] [00:57.59]And now thou'rt in heaven [00:59.59] [01:00.58]More pure is the birth [01:01.85] [01:03.17]Of thoughts that wake of thee [01:04.87] [01:05.76]Than aught upon earth. [01:07.17] [01:08.44]As a bud green in spring, [01:10.00] [01:10.65]As a rose blown in June, [01:12.28] [01:13.74]Thy beauty looked out [01:15.12] [01:15.34]And departed as soon; [01:16.32] [01:18.66]Heaven saw thee too fair [01:20.15]For earth's tenants of clay [01:21.92] [01:23.87]And ere age did thee wrong [01:25.62] [01:26.59]Thou wert summoned away. [01:28.44] [01:31.68]I know thou art happy, [01:32.79] [01:33.10]Why in grief need I be? [01:34.38] [01:35.81]Yet I am and the more so [01:37.51]To feel it's for thee, [01:38.66] [01:39.79]For thy presence possessed [01:41.17] [01:41.35]As thy absence destroyed [01:42.75] [01:43.86]The most that I loved [01:44.92] [01:45.78]And the all I enjoyed. [01:46.92] [01:49.37]So I try to seek pleasure [01:50.85]But vainly I try [01:52.28] [01:52.46]Now joy's cup is drained [01:53.88]And hope's fountain is dry; [01:55.55] [01:57.57]I mix with the living, [01:58.59]Yet what do I see? [01:59.92] [02:01.05]Only more cause for sorrow [02:02.54]In losing of thee. [02:03.63] [02:05.53]The year has its winter [02:07.16] [02:07.95]As well as its May, [02:09.00] [02:09.98]So the sweetest must leave us [02:11.76]And the fairest decay; [02:13.12] [02:14.14]Suns leave us tonight [02:15.68] [02:16.27]And their light none may borrow [02:17.93] [02:18.99]So joy retreats from us [02:20.65] [02:21.40]Overtaken by sorrow. [02:22.81] [02:24.63]The sun greets the spring [02:25.90]And the blossom the bee, [02:27.28] [02:28.23]The grass the blea hill [02:29.88]And the leaf the bare tree, [02:31.44] [02:33.07]But suns nor yet seasons [02:35.20]As sweet as they be [02:36.90] [02:37.45]Shall ever more greet me [02:38.74] [02:39.49]With tidings of thee. [02:40.92] [02:42.60]The voice of the cuckoo [02:43.90] [02:44.53]Is merry at noon [02:45.68] [02:47.03]And the song of the nightingale [02:48.89] [02:49.09]Gladdens the moon, [02:50.36] [02:52.01]But the gayest today [02:53.23]May be saddest tomorrow [02:54.53] [02:55.46]And the loudest in joy [02:56.54] [02:57.62]Sink the deepest in sorrow. [03:00.61] [03:03.10]For the lovely in death [03:04.30] [03:04.46]And the fairest must die, [03:05.86] [03:07.13]Fall once and forever [03:08.40]Like stars from the sky; [03:10.22] [03:12.08]So in vain do I mourn thee, [03:13.67] [03:14.28]I know it's in vain, [03:15.53] [03:16.87]Who would wish thee from joy [03:18.38]To earth's troubles again [03:19.76] [03:20.77]Yet thy love shed upon me [03:24.47]Life more than mine own, [03:25.84] [03:27.17]And now thou art from me [03:29.17] [03:29.37]My being is gone; [03:30.34] [03:33.06]Words know not my grief [03:34.45] [03:35.17]Thus without thee to dwell, [03:36.99] [03:38.60]Yet in one I felt all [03:40.44] [03:41.64]When life bade thee farewell [03:43.72]
