Three Songs , opus 15

by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953)

1. Cuckoo song
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Blow, blow, winds of May,
Ruffle the bloomy spray,
Blow all the balm away;
Hark 'tis my roundelay.
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Here's to the merry morn,
Another joy is born
Hail to the huntsman's horn,
For the bluebell greets the corn.
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Long ere the oak-leaves shine,
Or the woolly buds on the vine
Promise the blood of the wine,
I dream of the dear confine
Of the woods that are mine, that are mine.
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

With iron frost on the bark,
And the hazels stiffened and stark,
Far from the doom of the dark
I drown the lay of the lark.
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

I have neither sorrow nor strife,
Music's the joy of my life
Beauty and pleasure are rife
And all the world is my wife.
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Blow, blow, winds of May,
Ruffle the bloomy spray,
Blow all the balm away;
Hark 'tis my roundelay.
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Text Authorship:

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2. Amaryllis at the fountain
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Crownèd with flowers I saw fair Amaryllis
  With Thyrsis sit, hard by a fount of crystal,
And with her hand, more white than snow or lilies,
  On sand she wrote, "My faith shall be immortal":
But suddenly a storm of wind and weather
Blew all her faith and sand away together.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age, ed. by A. H. Bullen, London, John C. Nimmo, 1887, page 19.

3. Blossom‑time
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Blossom on the plum, 
  Wild wind and merry;
Leaves upon the cherry, 
  And one swallow come.

Red windy dawn,
  Swift rain and sunny;
  Wild bees seeking honey,
Crocus on the Lawn;
  Blossom on the plum,

Grass begins to grow,
  Dandelions come;
Snowdrops haste to go
After last month's snow;
Rough winds beat and blow,
  Blossom on the plum.

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