by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
Song from The Sad Shepherd See original
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 ... 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)
Composition:
- Set to music by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Song from The Sad Shepherd", 1918, published 1952 [ high voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), written 1634, appears in The Sad Shepherd, or, a tale of Robin Hood, Act I, Scene 2, unfinished
See other settings of this text.
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