by
Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
Drink to me only with thine eyes
Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss within the cup,
And I'll not ask for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine;
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee,
As giving it a hope that there
It could not withered be.
But thou thereon didst only breathe
And send'st it back to me:
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear
Not of itself, but thee.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: parodied in Archibald Stodart-Walker's Blink to me only with thine eyes.
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Alexander 'Sas' Bunge (1924 - 1980), "Drink to me only ", published 1966, from Three poems of Ben Jonson, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Bruce Faith (b. 1926), "To Celia" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Drink to me only with thine eyes", 1921, published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Three songs from old English popular songs, no. 1, from The Arnold Book of Old Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844 - 1931), "Those eyes", op. 22 (Three Songs) no. 2, published 1885 [ voice and piano ], Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt and Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "Drink to me only with thine eyes", published 1913 [ voice and piano ], London: Elkin [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elizabeth Turner (flourished 18th century), "A song", published 1782? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Lied an Celia", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 101
Lied an Celia
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Trink' mit den Augen nur mir zu,
mit meinen stimm' ich ein;
lass' einen Kuss im Kelch zurück,
so bitt' ich nicht um Wein.
Den Durst, der in der Seele brennt,
stillt Göttertrank allein -
doch selbst des Himmels Nektar gäb'
ich gern für Deinen drein.
Den Kranz aus Rosen schickt ich jüngst
nicht nur, zu ehren Dich,
ich gab ihm auch die Hoffnung mit,
er blühe ewiglich;
allein Du hauchtest nur auf ihn,
sandst ihn zurück an mich,
so er nun wächst und duftet, dann -
nicht aus sich selbst - durch Dich!
Widmung an meine liebe Ehefrau Karla
Text Authorship:
Based on:
- a text in English by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), "Song to Celia"
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2010-12-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 91
