The Desire for Hermitage by Samuel Barber Lyrics

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