Samuel Barber — The Desire for Hermitage

Ah! To be all alone in a little cell With nobody near me; Beloved that pilgrimage before the last pilgrimage to death Singing the passing hours to cloudy Heaven; Feeding upon dry bread and water from the cold spring That will be an end to evil when I am alone In a lovely little corner among tombs Far from the houses of the great Ah! To be all alone in a little cell, to be alone, all alone: Alone I came into the world Alone I shall go from it