Man is for the woman made | Man is for the woman made

possibly by Peter Anthony Motteux (1663 - 1718) and by Thomas Scott (flourished 1696-1697)

Man is for the woman made

Language: English

Our translations: CAT FRE

Man is for the woman made,
And the woman made for man;
As the spur is for the jade,
As the scabbard for the blade,
As for digging is the spade,
As for liquor is the can,
So man is for the woman made,
And the woman made for man.

As the scepter to be sway'd,
As for night's the serenade,
As for pudding is the pan,
And to cool us is the fan,
So man is for the woman made,
And the woman made for man.

Be she widow, wife or maid,
Be she wanton, be she stayed,
Be she well or ill array'd,
Whore, bawd or harridan,
Yet man is for the woman made,
And the woman made for man.

Text Authorship:

possibly by Peter Anthony Motteux (1663 - 1718) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Thomas Scott (flourished 1696-1697) [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Man is for the woman made", 1948 [ voice and piano ], a realization of the Purcell song. Confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
by Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Man is for the woman made", Z. 605 no. 3, published 1696, in Deliciae Musicae, Vol. III [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 122