Love is a sickness full of woes,
All remedies refusing;
A plant that [with most]1 cutting grows,
Most barren with best using,
Why so?
More we enjoy it, more it dies;
If not enjoy'd, it sighing cries --
Heigh ho!
Love is a torment of the mind,
A tempest everlasting;
And Jove hath made [it of]2 a kind
Not well, nor full, nor fasting.
Why so?
More we enjoy it, more it dies;
If not enjoy'd, it sighing cries --
Heigh ho!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Parry: "most with"
2 Ireland, Moeran, Raynor: "of it"
Text Authorship:
- possibly by Samuel Daniel (1562 - 1619), "Love is a sickness" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- possibly by Thomas Maske , "Love is a sickness" [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 Phyllis Batchelor (1915 - 1999), "Love is a sickness", copyright © 2018 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Madeleine Dring (1923 - 1977), "Love is a sickness" [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "Love is a sickness", op. 75 no. 2, published 1959, copyright © 1959 [ women's chorus ], from Songs of Youth, no. 2, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "Love is a sickness", op. 44 (Two Elizabethan Songs) no. 1, published 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "Love is a torment of the mind", 1899 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "Love is a sickness full of woes", 1921, published 1921 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Love is a sickness", R. 54 no. 4 (1930?), published 1933 [ chorus ], from Songs of Springtime, no. 4, Novello [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Love is a sickness", op. 21 no. 4, published 1873 [ chorus ], from A Garland of Shakesperian and Other Old-Fashioned Songs, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "Love is a sickness" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "Love is a sickness " [ chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Love is a sickness", op. 336 (1952), published 1971 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Lieb' ist ein Siechtum", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 82
Lieb' ist ein Siechtum, von Gott geschickt, Das keine Arznei je bessert; Ein Blümlein, das aufblüht, wenn man’s knickt, Und abstirbt, wenn man’s wässert. Warum? Gehört’s uns, um so mehr vergeht’s; Gehört’s uns nicht, wächst es nur stets – Wie dumm! Lieb’ ist der Seele Folterqual, Ein dauernd Ungewitter; Quält uns mit Hunger vor dem Mahl Und macht das Sattsein bitter. Warum? Gehört’s uns, um so mehr vergeht’s; Gehört’s uns nicht, wächst es nur stets – Wie dumm!
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 61.
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), "Lieb' ist ein Siechtum", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English possibly by Samuel Daniel (1562 - 1619) and possibly by Thomas Maske
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Volkmar Henschel
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 78