by John Skelton (1460 - 1529)
By Saint Mary, my lady
Language: English
By Saint Mary, my lady, Your mammy and daddy Brought forth a goodly baby, My maiden Isabel, Reflaring rosabel, The fragrant camamel, The ruddy rosary, The sovereign rosemary, The pretty strawberry, The columbine, the nepte, The ieloffer well set, The proper violet Envied your colour Is like the daisy flower After the April shower, Star of the morrow grey, The blossom on the spray, The freshest flower of May, Maidenly demure, Of womanhood the lure. Wherefore I make you sure It were an heavenly health, It were an endless wealth, A life for God himself To hear this nightingale Among the birdes small Warbling in the vale — Dug, dug, Jug, jug, Good year and good luck, With chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by John Skelton (1460 - 1529), "To Mistress Isabel Pennell" [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 Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Isabel" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-17
Line count: 31
Word count: 122