The Shepherd's Song
The Shepherd's Song is a short art song by English composer Edward Elgar, written in 1892 with English lyrics by Barry Pain. The manuscript is dated 22 August 1892. It first appeared in print in 1895 as Elgar’s Op. 16, No. 1 (published by Tuckwood), and again in 1896 by Ascherberg. In 1907 it was republished by Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew as the last of Elgar’s Seven Lieder, with both English and German words. The piece may be the same as another setting called Muleteer's Song, for which Pain gave permission in 1894; a German version of the words was provided by Ed. Sachs.
The song voices a shepherd’s moments of happiness: the flock returns home through a hot summer, the shepherd sings of the sea’s bright, dreamlike waves, and the beauty of red poppies on a hillside. As the day ends and the road to the white cottage stretches ahead, the shepherd's song turns toward dreams.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:46 (CET).