London, to thee I do present the merry month of May; Let each true subject be content to hear me what I say: [For from the top of conduit-head, as plainly may appear, I will both tell my name to you, and wherefore I came here. My name is Ralph, by due descent though not ignoble I Yet far inferior to the stock of gracious grocery; And by the common counsel of my fellows in the Strand,]1 With gilded staff and [crossèd]2 scarf, the May-lord here I stand. Rejoice, oh, English hearts, rejoice! rejoice, oh, lovers dear! Rejoice, oh, city, town, and country! rejoice, eke every [shere]3! For now the fragrant flowers do spring and sprout in seemly sort, The little birds do sit and sing, the lambs do make fine sport; And now the birchen-tree doth bud, that makes the schoolboy cry The morris rings, while hobby-horse doth foot it feateously; The lords and ladies now abroad, for their disport and play, Do kiss sometimes upon the grass, and sometimes in the hay; Now butter with a leaf of sage is good to purge the blood; Fly Venus and phlebotomy, for they are neither good; Now little fish on tender stone begin to cast their bellies, And sluggish snails, that erst were mewed, do creep out of their shellies; The rumbling rivers now do warm, for little boys to paddle; The sturdy steed now goes to grass, and up they hang his saddle; The heavy hart, the bellowing buck, the rascal, and the pricket, Are now among the yeoman's peas, and leave the fearful thicket: And be like them, oh, you, I say, of this same noble town, And lift aloft your velvet heads, and slipping off your gown, With bells on legs, and napkins clean unto your shoulders tied, With scarfs and garters as you please, and "Hey for our town!" cried. March out, and show your willing minds, by twenty and by twenty, To Hogsdon or to Newington, where ale and cakes are plenty; And let it ne'er be said for shame, that we the youths of London Lay thrumming of our caps at home, and left our custom undone. Up, then, I say, both young and old, both man and maid a-maying, With drums, and guns that bounce aloud, and merry tabor playing! Which to prolong, God save our king, and send his country peace And root out treason from the land! and so, my friends, I cease.
Finale
Set by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Finale", op. 44 no. 12 (1949) [ soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, mixed chorus, boys' chorus, and orchestra ], from Spring Symphony, no. 12  [sung text checked 1 time]
Note: this setting is made up of several separate texts.
Authorship:
- by Francis Beaumont (1584 - 1616), no title, appears in The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Act IV, Scene 5, Ralph/Rafe
- by John Fletcher (1579 - 1625), no title, appears in The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Act IV, Scene 5, Ralph/Rafe
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View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Britten.
2 Britten: "cross'd
3 Britten: "shire"
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
Sumer is icumen in, lhude sing cuccu. Groweth sed and bloweth med and springth the wode nu. Sing cuccu. Awe bleteth after lomb, lhouth after calve cu. Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth, murrie sing cuccu. Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes thu cuccu, ne swik thu naver nu.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, 13th century
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
See also Ezra Pound's comedic poem that was inspired by this one, Ancient Music.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]