After

”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

• 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) ISBN 0-521-37944-X
• Kennedy, Michael, Portrait of Elgar (Oxford University Press, 1968) ISBN 0-19-315414-5
• Moore, Jerrold N. “Edward Elgar: a creative life” (Oxford University Press, 1984) ISBN 0-19-315447-1