by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)
Here, here I live with what my board
Language: English
Here, here I live with what my board Can with the smallest cost afford. Though ne'er so mean the viands be, They well content my Prew and me. Or pea, or bean, or wort, or beet, Whatever comes, content makes sweet. Here we rejoice, because no rent We pay for our poor tenement Wherein we rest, and never fear The landlord or the usurer. The quarter-day does ne'er affright Our peaceful slumbers in the night. We eat our own and batten more, Because we feed on no man's score ; But pity those whose flanks grow great, Swell'd with the lard of other's meat. We bless our fortunes when we see Our own beloved privacy ; And like our living, where we're known To very few, or else to none.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Works of Robert Herrick, Vol I, ed. by Alfred Pollard, London, Lawrence & Bullen, 1891, pages 251-252.
Note: Prew is Herrick's servant, Prudence Baldwin.
Authorship:
- by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), "His content in the country" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "Here, here I live", op. 148 (Five Songs) no. 3 (1941) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-22
Line count: 20
Word count: 130