by Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593)

The passionate shepherd to his love
 (Sung text for setting by W. Mayer)
 See original
Language: English 
Our translations:  GER
Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

 ... 

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my Love.

See Raleigh's famous response, The nymph's reply to the shepherd.

See also the parody by Archibald Stodart-Walker.

Composition:

    Set to music by William Mayer (b. 1925), "The passionate shepherd to his love", stanzas 1-2,7 [ satb chorus a cappella ], from Four Madrigals, no. 1

Text Authorship:

  • by Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593), "The passionate shepherd to his love", written 1580-1592?

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Der feurige Schäfer zu seiner Liebsten", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Adolf von Marées) , "Der Schäfer an sein Lieb"


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 28
Word count: 199