Since she whom I lov'd | Since she whom I lov'd hath pay'd her last debt

by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

Since she whom I lov'd hath pay'd her...

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER

Since she whom I lov'd hath pay'd her last debt
To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,
And her Soule early into Heaven ravished,
Wholly on heavenly things my mind is sett.
Here the admyring her my mind did whett
To seeke thee God; so streams do shew their head;
But though I have found thee and thou my thirst hast fed,
A holy thirsty dropsy melts mee yett,
But why should I begg more love, when as thou
Dost wooe my soul for hers: off'ring all thine:
And dost not only feare lest I allow
My love to Saints and Angels, things divine,
But in thy tender jealousy dost doubt
Lest the world, Fleshe, yea, Devill putt thee out.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• J. Hall

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Text Authorship:

by John Donne (1572 - 1631), no title, appears in Holy Sonnets, no. 17 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Since she whom I lov'd", op. 35 no. 6 (1945), published 1946 [ high voice and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Geoffrey Burgon (b. 1941), "Since she whom I loved", 2001? [ voice and piano ], from Heavenly Things, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Since she whom I lov’d", 2013, first performed 2014 [ tenor and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne - 9 Songs for Tenor and Piano, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 123