If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee. 
If ever wife was happy in a man, 
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray. 
Then while we live, in love let's so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

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Confirmed with The Complete Works of Anne Bradstreet, 1981.

Text Authorship:

• by Anne (Dudley) Bradstreet (1612? - 1672), "To my dear and loving husband" [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 Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "To a loving husband", 195-? [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Leslie R. Bassett (b. 1923), "To my dear and loving husband", published 1977 [ soprano and piano ], from Five Love Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990), "To my dear and loving husband", published 1977 [ vocal sextet for soprano, alto, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass, with orchestra ], from Songfest, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Andrew Hudson , "To my dear and loving husband" [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "To my dear and loving husband", published 1979, from Women's Voices, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Stephen Wilkinson (b. 1919), "Nosegay" [ voice and piano ], from Eternal Summer, no. 12
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 107