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by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599)

Fair is my Love
Language: English 
Fair is my Love, when her fair golden hairs
With the loose wind ye waving chance to mark;
Fair, when the rose in her red cheeks appears;
Or in her eyes the fire of love does spark.

Fair, when her breast, like a rich-laden bark,
With precious merchandise she forth doth lay;
Fair, when that cloud of price, which oft doth dark
Her goodly light, with smiles she drives away.

But fairest she, when so she doth display
The gate with pearls and rubies richly dight,
Through which her words so wise do make their way
To bear the message of her gentle sprite.
The rest be works of nature's wonderment:
But this the work of hearts' astonishment.

Text Authorship:

  • by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599), Sonnet LXXXI Amoretti.  [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 Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, Sir (1891 - 1975), "Fair is my Love", from Two love songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Fair is my Love", 1864 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 118

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