by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
O say, dear life, when shall these twin‑born berries
Language: English
O say, dear life, when shall these twin-born berries, So lovely-ripe, by my rude lips be tasted? Shall I not pluck (sweet, say not nay) those cherries? O let them not with summer’s heat be blasted. Nature, thou know’st, bestow’d them free on thee; Then be thou kind — bestow them free on me.
Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age, ed. by A. H. Bullen, London, John C. Nimmo, 1887, page 91.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text 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 Ward (1571 - 1638), "O say, dear life, when shall these twin-born berries", published 1613 [chorus], from the collection First Set of English Madrigals, madrigal [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-25
Line count: 6
Word count: 55