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Say, love, if ever thou didst find A woman with a constant mind? None but one. And what should that rare mirror be? Some goddess or some queen is she; She, she, she, and only she, She only queen of love and beauty. But could thy fiery poison'd dart At no time touch her spotless heart, Nor come near? She is not subject to Love's bow; Her eye commands, her heart saith no, No, no, no, and only no; One no another still doth follow. How might I that fair wonder know, That mocks desire with endless no. See the moon That ever in one change doth grow, Yet still the same, and she is so; So, so, so, and only so, From heav'n her virtues she doth borrow. To her then yield thy shafts and bow, That can command affection so: Love is free; So are her thoughts that vanquish thee. There is no queen of love but she, She, she, she, and only she She only queen of love and beauty.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 John Dowland (1562 - 1626), "Say, love, if ever thou didst find" [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Nicolaas (Koos) Jaspers) , "Gij Eros hebt ge ooit ontmoet", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 28
Word count: 173
Gij Eros hebt ge ooit ontmoet een vrouw met een stabiel gemoed? Ach maar één, verder geen ! Wat zeldzaam stralend wonderkind, Is zij prinses of een godin ? Zij zij zij zij de koningin is zij van schoonheid en van warme liefde. Jouw hete gifpijl treft niet meer: een zuiver hart blijft ongedeerd Telkenkeer, zonder meer weerstaat zij Eros' boog meteen. Haar oogwenk dwingt, haar hart zegt neen! Nee nee nee nee, steeds blijft het nee, haar nee staat vast, haar nee is eeuwig. Hoe wordt zo'n wonder dan gekend, de lust weerstrevend zonder end ? Zie de maan boven staan : met krimpend en met wassend tij blijft die zichzelf - zo is ook zij ! Zo zo zo zo, ja precies zo ! Al haar talent komt uit de hemel. Leg dan uw boog en pijlen neer, beheers de ziel niet langer meer ! Liefde zij voortaan vrij ! Gij Eros handel naar haar zin, zij is de ware koningin Zij zij zij zij, de koningin is zij van schoonheid en van warme liefde.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from English to Dutch (Nederlands) copyright © 2017 by Nicolaas (Koos) Jaspers, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist
This text was added to the website: 2017-09-06
Line count: 28
Word count: 168