My prime of youth is but a frost of...

My prime of youth is but a frost of cares,
My feast of joy is but a dish of pain,
My crop of corn is but a field of tares,
And all my good is but vain hope of gain;
My life is fled, and yet I saw no sun;
And now I live, and now my life is done.

[My tale was heard, and yet it was not told;
My fruit is fallen and yet my leaves are green;
My youth is spent and yet I am not old;
I saw the world and yet I was not seen;
My thread is cut, and yet it was not spun;
And now I live, and now my life is done.]1

I sought my death and found it in the womb,
I looked for life and saw it was a shade,
I trod the earth and knew it was my tomb,
And now I die and now I was but made;
My glass is full, and now my glass is run;
And now I live, and yet my life is done.

Translation(s): GER

List of language codes

About the headline (FAQ)

The Spring is past, and yet it hath not sprung!
The fruit is dead, and yet the leaves be green!
My youth is gone, and yet I am but young!
I saw the World and yet I was not seen!
My thread is cut, and yet it is not spun!
And now I live, and now my life is done.

Authorship

• by Chidiock Tichbourne (1558? - 1586), "On the Eve of His Execution", subtitle: "Written the night before he was beheaded", written 1586 [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Richard Rodney Bennett (1936 - 2012), "Written on the eve of execution", from Tenebrae, no. 4. [
   text verified 1 time
  ]
• by Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893), "Chidiock Tichborne", subtitle: "Old Ballad", CG. 364 (1873) [medium voice and piano], London, Goddard & Co. [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by John Mundy (1550 - 1630), "My prime of youth is but a frost of cares", published 1594, stanzas 1-2, from the collection Songs and Psalms [
   text verified 1 time
  ]
• by Robert Still (1910 - 1971), "Awaiting Execution" [
   text not verified 
  ]

Settings in other languages or adaptations:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Gisbert, Freiherr von Vincke (1813 - 1892) by Joachim Raff.
  • Go to the text.
    

Text added to the website: 2003-09-29T00:00:00.
Last modified: 2014-06-16T10:01:52
Line count: 18
Word count: 180

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