In an harbour grene aslepe whereas I lay
Language: English 
In an harbour1 grene aslepe whereas I lay
The byrdes sang swete in the middes of the day:
I dreamèd fast of mirth and play.
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.

Me thought I walkèd still to and fro,
And from her company I could not go,
But when I wakèd it was not so.
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.

Therefore my heart is surely pyght2
Of her alone to have a sight
Which is my joy and hearte's delight.
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.

Modernized spelling

In an arbour green asleep whereas I lay
The birds sang sweet in the [middis]3 of the day:
I dreamed fast of mirth and play;
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.

Methought I walked still to and fro,
And from her company I could not go,
But when I waked it was not so.
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.

Therefore my heart is surely pight 4
Of her alone to have a sight
Which is my joy and heart's delight.
In youth is pleasure, in youth is pleasure.

Original version, Lusty Iuventus of youth he syngeth

In a herber grene a sleep where as I lay, 
The byrdes sang swete in y middes of the day,
I dreamed fast of myrth and play,
In youth is plesure, in youth is pleasure.

Me thought I walked stil to and fro, 
And from her company I could not go,
But when I waked it was not so,
In youth is plesure, in youth is plesure.

Therfore my hart is surely pyght
Of her alone to have a sight.
Which is my joy and hartes delyght,
In youth is plesure, in youth is pleasure. Finis.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   E. Moeran •   P. Warlock •   P. Warlock 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 presumably "arbour" (note from score)
2 old past participle of pitch := resolved, set upon. (note from score)
3 Moeran: "middes"; Warlock (in "Youth"): "middès"
4 Note from score: pight: fixed, determined.

Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Gustav Holst.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 38
Word count: 295