by Thomas Lodge (1558 - 1625)
Language: English
Like to the clear in highest sphere
Where all imperial glory shines,
Of self-same colour is her hair
Whether unfolded or in twines:
Heigh ho, fair Rosaline.
Her eyes are sapphires set in snow,
Refining heav'n by ev'ry wink;
The gods do fear whenas they glow,
And I do tremble when I think:
Heigh ho, would she were mine!
Her cheeks are like the blushing cloud
That beautifies Aurora's face,
Or like the silver crimson shroud
That Phoebus' smiling looks doth grace:
Heigh ho, fair Rosaline!
Her lips are like two budded roses,
Whom ranks of lilies neighbour nigh,
Within which bounds she balm encloses,
Apt to entice a deity:
Heigh ho, would she were mine!
...
Then muse not, Nymphs, though I bemoan
The absence of fair Rosaline,
Since for her fair there 's fairer none,
Nor for her virtues so divine:
Heigh ho, fair Rosaline:
Heigh ho, my heart! would God that she were mine!
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Rosaline", published 1920, stanzas 1-2,5, from English Lyrics, Twelfth Set, no. 3
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Lodge (1558 - 1625), "Rosaline"
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Rosalinde", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 46
Word count: 282