by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678)
Draw near,/ You lovers that complain
Language: English
Draw near, You lovers that complain Of fortune or disdain, And to my ashes lend a tear, Melt the hard marble with your groans, And soften the relentless stones, Whose cold embraces the sad subject hide Of all Love's cruelties and beauty's pride. No verse, No Epicedium bring, No peaceful Requiem sing, To charm the terrors of my hearse; No profane numbers must flow near The sacred silence that dwells here. Vast griefs are dumb, softly, O softly mourn, Lest you disturb the peace that attends my urn. Yet strew Upon my dismal grave Such off'rings as you have, Forsaken cypress, and sad yew, For kinder flow'rs can take no birth Or grow from such unhappy earth; Weep only o'er my dust and say, "Here lies To Love and Fate an equal sacrifice."
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Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678), "The Exequies", first published 1647 [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 Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Draw near, you lovers", Z. 462. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 133