by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
Language: English
Available translation(s): SPA
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying: And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun, The higher he's a-getting The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he's to setting. That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the worse, and worst Times, still succeed the former. Then be not coy, but use your time; And while ye may, go marry: For having lost but once your prime, You may forever tarry.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesAuthorship:
- by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), "To the virgins, to make much of time" [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 Mark Andrews (1875 - 1939), "Gather ye rosebuds" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by David Arditti (b. 1964), "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", op. 9 no. 1, from Gather Ye Rosebuds, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Madeleine Dring (1923 - 1977), "To the virgins, to make much of time", from Dedications: 5 Poems by Robert Herrick, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "Make much of Time", op. 77 no. 3 (1951), published 1960 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano solo, three-part women's chorus, and strings ], from Of a Summer Day, no. 3, Association of American Choruses, Philadelphia [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may", op. 36 no. 3, published 1956 [ mixed chorus and piano duet or small orchestra ], from Seven Songs, no. 3, London : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Miriam Gideon (1906 - 1996), "Gather ye rosebuds", 1940, unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "Gather ye rosebuds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "Gather ye rosebuds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Lawes (1602 - 1645), "Gather ye rosebuds", from Songs from the Autograph Songbook, no. 30 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "Advice to Virgins", op. 35 no. 2 (1978), first performed 1979 [ voice and harp or harpsichord or piano, or mandolin and continuo ], from Simple songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Gather ye rosebuds", R. 21 (1922) [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ben Moore (b. 1960), "To the virgins, to make much of time" [ medium-high voice and piano ], from 14 Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Pasatieri (b. 1945), "Gather ye rosebuds", 2003 [ voice and piano ], from A rustling of angels, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "To the virgins", published 1904 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Two Partsongs, no. 2, London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Betty Roe (b. 1930), "To Virgins, to Make Much of Time", published 2002 [ duet for soprano and baritone with piano ], from Two Duets, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wilfred Sanderson (1878 - 1935), "Gather ye rosebuds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mabel Nightingale Woodward (1876 - 1911), "Gather yee rosebuds", published 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Songs, no. 11, Birmingham : Press of the Birmingham Printers [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfredo García) , "A las vírgenes, para que aprovechen el tiempo", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 97