Elegy was composed in 1947 to the words of the 20th century Canadian poet Anne Wilkinson. It soon became one of the most widely performed songs. It was recorded on disc by Jon Vickers and James Milligan, and was programmed many times by Lois Marshall and the famous black singer, Dorothy Maynor. It was she who requested an orchestration of the work which she sang with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1954 under the baton of William Steinberg.

The opening words: "I am so tired I do not think that sleep in death can rest me" express the poet's unhappy life. In her premonition of early death, she sees her own casket carried to her grave and ends her poem with the fearful thought: "Do not let the children pass my way alone lest these shaking bones rattle out their fright at waking in the night."