by Lizette Woodworth Reese (1856 - 1935)
How many lilies be ablow?
Language: English
How many lilies be ablow? Count them and see -- Seven by the wall, and seven by the door; 'Tis time he came to me. Oh, love's bitter! Was ever [a]1 whiter web than this That I spin to-day? A wedding gown or a winding sheet, Love, which shall it be? Oh, [love's]1 bitter! The old dames stand in the street, 'Neath the willow trees; And they mark how white my lilies blow, And they hear my bees. Oh, love's bitter! And one dame says, "Five lads of mine Be in the sea;" Another says, "That lad of mine, He came not back to me." Oh, love's bitter! The willow trees grow down to the wharves, Green as of old; (Green as the day he went from me;) The sea is of gold. Oh, love's bitter! Two ships I see: one in the west -- Love, is it thine? One in the east, in a windy mist -- Oh, love, which is thine? [Oh, love's bitter!]1 Then speak the dames: "Her ship went down That night at sea." My seven white lilies -- do ye hear? For this they speak of me! Oh, love's bitter.
M. Lang sets stanzas 1-2, 6-7
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Lang.
Authorship:
- by Lizette Woodworth Reese (1856 - 1935), "A spinning song", appears in A Handful of Lavender, first published 1891 [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 Margaret Ruthven Lang (1867 - 1972), "Spinning song", stanzas 1-2,6-7. [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Nich Roehler
This text was added to the website: 2012-05-20
Line count: 35
Word count: 191