by Thomas Middleton (1570? - 1627)
Come away, Hecate
Language: English
[Above, in the air] Come away, come away, Hecate, Hecate, oh, come away HECATE: I come, I come, I come, I come, with all the speed I may, with all the speed I may. Where's Stadlin? [Above] Here. HECATE: Where's Puckle? [Above] Here. And Hoppo, too, and Hellowain, too; We lack but you, we lack but you Come away, make up the count. HECATE: I will but 'noint, and then I mount. and then I mount. and then I mount. [A Spirit descends in the shape of a Cat] [Above] There's one come down to fetch his dues; A kiss, a coll, a sip of blood; And why thou stayst so long, I muse, I muse Since the air's so sweet and good. HECATE: Oh, art thou come What news, what news? CAT SPIRIT: All goes still to our delight. Either come, or else Refuse, refuse. HECATE: Now I am furnished for the flight. [Ascending with the spirit] Now I go, now I fly, Malkin, my sweet spirit, and I. Oh, what dainty pleasure 'tis To ride in the air, When the moon shines fair, And sing and dance, and toy and kiss! Over woods, high rocks, and mountains, Over seas, our mistress' fountains, Over steep towers and turrets, We fly by night, 'mongst troops of spirits. No ring of bells to our ears sounds; No howls of wolves, no yelp of hounds; No, not the noise of waters' breach, Or cannon's roar our height can reach.
Authorship:
- by Thomas Middleton (1570? - 1627), appears in The Witch [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 Robert Johnson (c1583 - 1633), "Come away, Hecate" [vocal duet for soprano and baritone with lute] [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ross Klatte
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-06
Line count: 49
Word count: 247