by Abraham Cowley (1618 - 1667)
Summer thirst
Language: English
The thirsty earth soaks up the rain, And drinks and gapes for drink again; The plants suck in the earth, and are With constant drinking fresh and fair; The sea itself (which one would think Should have but little need of drink) Drinks twice ten thousand rivers up, So fill'd that they o'erflow the cup. The busy Sun (and one would guess By 's drunken fiery face no less) Drinks up the sea, and when he 's done, The Moon and Stars drink up the Sun: They drink and dance by their own light They drink and revel all the night: Nothing in Nature 's sober found, But an eternal health goes round. Fill up the bowl, then, fill it high, Fill all the glasses there—for why Should every creature drink but I? Why, man of morals, tell me why?
Text Authorship:
- by Abraham Cowley (1618 - 1667) [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 Derek Holman (b. 1931), "Summer thirst", 2009, first performed 2009 [voice and piano], from The Four Seasons, no. 5. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2015-02-19
Line count: 20
Word count: 141