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Solitude

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A famous poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox dealing with the topic of fair weather friends. When things are good, everyone is around you. When times are rough you are often alone.

MP3 CD

First published January 28, 2012

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About the author

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

474 books132 followers
Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet.

Her best-known work was "Poems of Passion". Her most enduring work was the poem "Solitude", which contains the lines:

"Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone".

Her autobiography, "The Worlds and I", was published in 1918, a year before her death.

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Sadia Mansoor.
554 reviews110 followers
April 27, 2017
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all,—
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.


Wow... (Y)
Finally I came to know that these sayings & quotes are taken from this poem :)
Profile Image for Fatbardha.
111 reviews
February 19, 2025
“No man can help you die” Yeah no this will stick with me for a bit
Profile Image for Sneh Pradhan.
414 reviews74 followers
April 5, 2014
The source of the eponymous quote " Laugh and the world laughs with you , Cry and you cry alone ..."
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.
Profile Image for Andy Hickman.
7,396 reviews51 followers
March 27, 2021
Solitude, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Powerful poem. Several lines famously recognisable. ****
............
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all,—
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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