by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
Though I am young and cannot tell
Language: English
Though I am young and cannot tell Either what love or death is well, Yet I have heard they both bear darts, And both do aim at human hearts; And then again I have been told, Love wounds with heat, and death with cold; So that I fear they do but bring Extreams to touch, and mean one thing. As in a ruin, we it call One thing to be blown up, or fall; Or to our end, like way we have, By a flash of lightning, or a wave; So love's inflamed shaft or brand, May kill as soon as death's cold hand; Except love's fires the virtue have To fright the frost out of the grave.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesText Authorship:
- by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), written 1634, appears in The Sad Shepherd, or, a tale of Robin Hood, Act I, Scene 2, unfinished [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 Benjamin C. S. Boyle , "Karolin's song", op. 25 no. 5, published 2011, from Folksongs from another World, no. 5, voice and piano [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Grant Carmichael (1851 - 1935), "Though I am young and cannot tell", published 1898 [ voice and piano ], London: J. B. Cramer & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Song from The Sad Shepherd", 1918, published 1952 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Nicholas Lanier (1588 - 1666), "Though I am young", published 1652 [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: 16
Word count: 121