by Philip Massinger (1583 - 1640)
Why art thou slow
Language: English
Why art thou slow, thou rest of trouble, Death, To stop a wretch's breath, That calls on thee and offers her sad heart A prey unto thy dart? I am nor young nor fair; be, therefore, bold; Sorrow hath made me old, Deformed, and wrinkled; all that I can crave Is quiet in my grave. Such as live happy, hold long life a jewel, But to me thou art cruel If thou end not my tedious misery, And I soon cease to be. Strike, and strike home, then ; pity unto me, In one short hour's delay, is tyranny.
Authorship:
- by Philip Massinger (1583 - 1640), from Emperor of the East, first published 1632 [author's text not yet checked 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 Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Why art thou slow", 1910-8, published 1920, from the collection English Lyrics, Eleventh Set, no. 7. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-09
Line count: 14
Word count: 99