Thomas Hood: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

To a Cold Beauty

Thomas Hood

“To a Cold Beauty” as printed in The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood (1873).

Thomas Hood: Collected Lyrics Text 13 1873 · historical text
Public domainSong lyricsVictorian
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Lady, wouldst thou heiress be

To Winter's cold and cruel part?

When he sets the rivers free,

Thou dost still lock up thy heart;—

Thou that shouldst outlast the snow

But in the whiteness of thy brow?

Verse 2

Scorn and cold neglect are made

For winter gloom and winter wind,

But thou wilt wrong the summer air,

Breathing it to words unkind,—

Breath which only should belong

To love, to sunlight, and to song!

Verse 3

When the little buds unclose,

Red, and white, and pied, and blue,

And that virgin flower, the rose,

Opes her heart to hold the dew,

Wilt thou lock thy bosom up

With no jewel in its cup?

Verse 4

Let not cold December sit

Thus in Love's peculiar throne;—

Brooklets are not prisoned now,

But crystal frosts are all agone,

And that which hangs upon the spray,

It is no snow, but flower of May!

Credits

Written by Thomas Hood

Words by Thomas Hood. Historical text published in The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood (1873); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood (1873), “To a Cold Beauty”

Every text in this 1873 collected edition is by Thomas Hood (1799-1845), who died more than 180 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

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Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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