Come heavy souls oppressed with the weight
Of crimes, [or]1 Pangs, or want of your delight,
   Come drown in Lethe's sleepy Lake,
      Whatever makes you ake.
      Drink [health]2 from poyson'd bowles
Breath out your cares together with your souls.
         Cool Death's a salve
         That all may have
   There's no distinction in the grave;
Lay down your loads before deaths iron dore,
Sigh, and sigh out, groan once, and groan no more.

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Confirmed with William Strode, The Floating Island: a tragi-comedy in five acts and in verse, London, 1655, Act V, Scene VII, with the stage direction "An Attendant sings in a base."

¹ Lawes: "and"
² Lawes: "healths"

Text Authorship:

• by William Stroud , no title, written 1636, London, H Twiford in Vine-court Middle-Temple, N Brooke at the Angel in Cornhill, and J Place at Furnivals-Inne-gate , first published 1655 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Henry Lawes (c1595 - 1662), "Desperato's banquet", from Ayres and Dialogues, Book 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-04-15
Line count: 11
Word count: 73