토마스 무어는 아일랜드의 시인으로 유명하게 알려져 있으나

오페라, 가곡, 소설등 다양한 장르에서 작품을 남긴 보기 힘든 예술가라고 할수 있겠다.

독일의 가곡왕 슈베르트가 있었듯이 아일랜드는 토마스 무어란 시인이자 많은 가곡을 만든

토마스 무어가 있었던것을 수년전 아일랜드 음악을 집중 공부하면서 새로이 알게된 사실이지요,

이곡은 피부병으로 고생하며 지나는 아내를 사랑하는 마음으로 시를 쓰고 곡을 붙였다.

The lyrics, as originally published in 1808 in A Selection of Irish Melodies, are as follows:^[3]

I.

BELIEVE me, if all those endearing young charms,

Which I gaze on so fondly to-day,

Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,

Like fairy-gifts, fading away!

Thou wouldst still be ador'd as this moment thou art,

Let thy loveliness fade as it will;

And, around the dear ruin, each wish of my heart

Would entwine itself verdantly still!

II.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,

And thy cheeks unprofan'd by a tear,

That the fervour and faith of a soul can be known,

To which time will but make thee more dear!

Oh! the heart, that has truly lov'd, never forgets,

But as truly loves on to the close;

As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,

The same look which she turn'd when he rose!

Thomas Moore

Operas

• The Gypsy Prince (1801)
• M.P. (1811)

Non-fiction

• Memoirs of the Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1825)

Novels

• The Epicurean (1827)
• The Fudge Family in Paris (1818)
• The Fudge Family in England (1835)

Poetry

• "The Minstrel Boy"
• The Last Rose of Summer (1805)
• • • Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms" (1808)