Always and Everywhere

”Always and Everywhere” is a song by the English composer Edward Elgar with words translated from the Polish of Zygmunt Krasiński by Frank H. Fortey.[1] It was composed and published in 1901.

The repeated ”Always and Everywhere” would have reminded the composer that the initials were those of his wife (Alice) and himself.[2]

Lyrics

O say not, when my earthly days are o'er,
That I have only caused thee sorrows sore;
For I have wrecked my own life, even more,
  Always and Everywhere.

O say not, when on earth I no more dwell,
That I have numbed thy young heart’s joyous swell;
I, too, have quaffed the Poison-Cup of Hell,
  Always and Everywhere.

But say, when soft the grasses o'er me wave,
That God is kind to hide me in the grave;
For both my life and thine I did enslave,
  Always and Everywhere.

But say, O say! when my last hours depart,
That my poor life was one long frenzied smart;
For I have loved thee, though with bitter heart,
  Always and Everywhere.[3]

Recordings

References

  1. ^ Moore (p. 346) describes Fortey as "an elderly resident of Birmingham". However the 1901 census shows him a boarder at 15 Wharf Road, King's Norton (nor far from Birmingham), aged only 25. Frank H. Fortey was a translator of Polish literature, his main work being the poems of Mickiewicz. He died in 1940.
  2. ^ Moore, p.346
  3. ^ "Always and Everywhere (Elgar, Edward)". imslp.org. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  • 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