Amaryllis | I care not for these Ladies

I care not for these Ladies

Language: English

Our translations: DUT FRI

I care not for these Ladies
That must be wooed and prayed,
Give me kind Amarillis
The wanton country maid;
Nature art disdaineth,
Her beauty is her own;
   For when we court and kiss,
   She cries, forsooth, let go;
   But when we come where comfort is,
   She never will say no.

If I love Amarillis,
She gives me fruit and flowers,
But if we love these Ladies,
We must give golden showers;
Give them gold that sell love,
Give me the nut brown lass,
   For when we court and kiss,
   She cries, forsooth, let go;
   But when we come where comfort is,
   She never will say no.

These ladies must have pillows,
And beds by strangers wrought,
Give me a Bower of willows,
Of moss and leaves unbought,
And fresh Amarillis,
With milk and honey fed,
   For when we court and kiss,
   She cries, forsooth, let go;
   But when we come where comfort is,
   She never will say no.

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Text Authorship:

by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620) [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 Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), "I care not for these Ladies", published 1601, from A Booke of Ayres = A Book of Airs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "Amaryllis", op. 116 no. 2 (1948), published 1949 [ voice and piano ], from Two Old English Lyrics, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Brian Holmes (b. 1946), "I care not for these Ladies", from Six Ayres, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "Amaryllis" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Amaryllis", op. 261 (1950) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this page: Brian Holmes

This text was added to the website: 2004-08-14
Line count: 30
Word count: 159