by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620)
What is a day, what is a yeere?
Language: English
What is a day, what is a yeere?
Of vaine delight and pleasure?
Like to a dreame it endlesse dies,
And from vs like a vapour flies :
And this is all the fruit that we finde,
Which glorie in worldly treasure.
He that will hope for true delight,
With vertue must be graced ;
Sweete follie yeelds a bitter tast,
Which euer will appeare at last :
But if we still in vertue delight,
Our soules are in heauen placed.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620) [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 Philip Rosseter (1567?8 - 1623), "What is a day, what is a yeere?", published 1601, from the collection A Booke of Ayres = A Book of Airs, no. 23. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 78