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by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

So, so break off this last lamenting...
Language: English 
So, so [break]1 off this [last]2 lamenting kiss
Which sucks two souls, and vapours both away;
Turn thou ghost that way, and let me turn this,
And let ourselves benight our [happiest]3 day,
We ask none leave to love, nor will we owe
Any, so cheap a death as saying, Go;

Go; and if that word have not quite killed thee,
Ease me with death by bidding me [go]4 too.
Oh, if it have, let my word work on me,
And a just office on a murderer do.
Except it be too late, to kill me so,
Being double dead, going, and bidding, go.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   A. Ferrabosco 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Ferrabosco: "leave"
2 omitted by Ferrabosco.
3 Ferrabosco: "happy"
4 Ferrabosco: "to go"

Text Authorship:

  • by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "The Expiration" [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 Alfonso Ferrabosco (c1575 - 1628), "So, so leave off this lamenting kisse", from Ayres 1609 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-07-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 108

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