by John Phillip (flourished 1561)
Be still, my sweet sweeting, no longer...
Language: English
Be still, my sweet sweeting, no longer do cry; Sing lullaby, lullaby, lullaby baby; Let dolours be fleeting, I fancy thee I, To rock and to lull thee I will not delay me. Lullaby baby, lullaby baby, Thy nurse will tend thee as duly as may be. What creature now living would hasten thy woe? Sing lullaby, lullaby, lullaby baby; See for thy relieving the time I bestow To dance and to prance thee as prett'ly as may be. Lullaby baby, lullaby baby, Thy nurse will tend thee as duly as may be. The gods be thy shield and comfort in need; Sing lullaby, lullaby, lullaby baby; They give thee good fortune and well for to speed, And this to desire I will not delay me. Lullaby baby, lullaby baby, Thy nurse will tend thee as duly as may be.
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Text Authorship:
- by John Phillip (flourished 1561), appears in Patience and Meek Grissill, first published c1561 [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 Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Be Still, My Sweet Sweeting", op. 298 (1951) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "Cradle Song", 1927, published 1928 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 140