by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
I saw my lady weep
Language: English
I saw my lady weep, And Sorrow proud to be advanced so, In those fair eyes where all perfections keep, Her face was full of woe; But such a woe (believe me) as wins more hearts, Than Mirth can do with her enticing parts. Sorrow was there made fair, And Passion wise, tears a delightful thing, Silence beyond all speech a wisdom rare, She made her sighs to sing, And all things with so sweet a sadness move, As made my heart at once both grieve and love. O fairer than aught else, The world can show, leave off in time to grieve, Enough, enough, your joyful looks excels, Tears kills the heart. O strive not to be excellent in woe, Which only breeds your beauty's overthrow.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked 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 John Dowland (1562 - 1626), "I saw my lady weep", published 1600 [ voice and lute ], from Second Book of Songs or Airs [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "I saw my lady weep", c1920-1921 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 127