By 1829 the formative elements of Berlioz's career were in place—his discoveries of Beethoven, Goethe, and Shakespeare, animated by a passion for the Irish actress, Harriet Smithson, who brought Shakespeare's Ophelia, Desdemona, and Juliet to the Paris stage. In this company, the Irish poet, Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), may seem something of a sport, but his canny mixture of romance and revolutionary sentiment—seen from a distance and gaining charm in translation—was an essential part of the ferment in the mind of the 25-year-old Berlioz as he strove to fashion a form for his tumultuous conceptions. "Adieu, Bessy" (Sweetest Love! I'll not forget thee) is one of nine songs composed in 1829 to Moore's poems in translation by Berlioz's friend, Thomas Gounet, though in this instance the English poem has been included, attached clumsily to the melody. Published initially in 1830 as Neuf Melodies irlandaises, the collection achieved some popularity and was soon republished as Irlande. Already, in "Adieu, Bessy" the strophic form and style of the drawing room romance are being pushed beyond polite limits by Berlioz's bursts of passion. The composer thought highly enough of "Adieu, Bessy" to revise it for republication in 1849.

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