quote · Legacy record
The new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old, The heart is all athirst again, The drops are all of gold; We thought the cup was broken, And we thought the tale was told, But the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! The flower of life had faded, The leaf was in its fall, The winter seemed so early To have reached us, once for all; But now the buds are breaking, There is grass above the mould, And the new wine, the new wine. It tasteth like the old! The earth had grown so dreary, The sky so dull and grey; One was weeping in the darkness, One was sorrowing through the day: But a light from heaven gleams again, On water, wood, and wold, And the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! For the loving lips are laughing, And the loving face is fair, Though a phantom hand is on the board, And phantom eyes are there; The phantom eyes are soft and sad, The phantom hand is cold, But the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! We dare not look, we turn away, The precious draught to drain, ’Twere worse than madness, surely now, To lose it all again; To quivering lip, with clinging grasp, The fatal cup we hold, For the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! And life is short, and love is life, And so the tale is told, Though the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old.
The new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old, The heart is all athirst again, The drops are all of gold; We thought the cup was broken, And we thought the tale was told, But the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! The flower of life had faded, The leaf was in its fall, The winter seemed so early To have reached us, once for all; But now the buds are breaking, There is grass above the mould, And the new wine, the new wine. It tasteth like the old! The earth had grown so dreary, The sky so dull and grey; One was weeping in the darkness, One was sorrowing through the day: But a light from heaven gleams again, On water, wood, and wold, And the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! For the loving lips are laughing, And the loving face is fair, Though a phantom hand is on the board, And phantom eyes are there; The phantom eyes are soft and sad, The phantom hand is cold, But the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! We dare not look, we turn away, The precious draught to drain, ’Twere worse than madness, surely now, To lose it all again; To quivering lip, with clinging grasp, The fatal cup we hold, For the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old! And life is short, and love is life, And so the tale is told, Though the new wine, the new wine, It tasteth like the old.
In print by 1921 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- G. J. Whyte-Melville (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1921 AD · modern
In print by 1921: recorded in My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 324 · printed citation: G. J. Whyte-Melville. · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.