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by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)

I will confess
Language: English 
I will confess
With cheerfulness,
Love is a thing so likes me,
That, let her lay
On me all day,
I'll kiss the hand that strikes me.

I will not, I,
Now blubb'ring cry,
It, ah! too late repents me
That I did fall
To love at all--
Since love so much contents me.

No, no, I'll be
In fetters free;
While others they sit wringing
Their hands for pain,
I'll entertain
The wounds of love with singing.

With flowers and wine,
And cakes divine,
To strike me I will tempt thee;
Which done, no more
I'll come before
Thee and thine altars empty.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), "A Hymn to Love" [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 Andre Douw (b. 1951), "Women useless - an hymne to love", 1983, from Herrick Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "A hymn to love", op. 196 no. 4 (1991) [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Partsongs to poems by Robert Herrick, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "A Hymn to Love" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-05-09
Line count: 24
Word count: 104

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