”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]
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]