There is a Lady sweet and kind,
Was never face so pleased my mind;
I did but see her passing by,
And yet [I]1 love her till I die.

Her gesture, motion and her [smiles]2,
Her wit, her voice, my heart [beguiles]3;
[Beguiles]3 my heart, I know not why,
And yet [I]1 love her till I die.

Her free behavior, winning looks,
Will make a Lawyer burn his books;
I touched her not, alas! not I,
And yet [I]1 love her till I die.

Had I her fast betwixt mine arms,
Judge you that think such sports were harms;
Were't any harm? No, no, fie, fie!
For I will love her till I die.

Should I remain confinèd there
So long as Phœbus in his sphere,
I to request, she to deny,
Yet would I love her till I die.

[Cupid is winged and doth range
Her country so my love doth change;
But change she earth or change she sky,
Yet will I love her till I die.]4

G. Baxter sets stanzas 1-3, 6
C. Parry sets stanzas 1-2, 6
P. Warlock sets stanzas 1-2, 4-6
E. Purcell sets stanzas 1-2, 6

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Baxter: "I'll"
² Parry, Purcell: "smile"
³ Parry, Purcell: "beguile"
⁴ Baxter:

Cupid has wings and he does range;
So if her land my love does change,
But change she earth or change she sky, 
And yet I'll love her till I die.

Authorship

• by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, found on back of leaf 53 of Popish Kingdome or Reigne of Antichrist; published in 1607 in Thomas Ford's Music of Sundry Kinds  [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 Garth Baxter (b. 1946), "There is a lady sweet and kind", stanzas 1-3,6 [ voice and guitar or SATB chorus ], from Three madrigals, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Winifred May Bury (1897 - 1977), "There Is A Ladye", 1932 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Norman Dello Joio (1913 - 2008), "There is a lady sweet and kind" [sung text not yet checked]
• by Thomas Ford (d. 1648), "There is a Ladie sweet and kind", published 1607, from Musicke of Sundrie Kindes [sung text checked 1 time]
• by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "There is a lady sweet and kind " [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "There is a lady sweet and kind", op. 50a (1977) [ soprano or tenor and SATB chorus a cappella (or with oboe, English horn, clarinet, violin, and viola) ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "There is a lady sweet and kind", 1924-5 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "And yet I love her till I die", 1903, published 1903, stanzas 1-2,6, from English Lyrics, Sixth Set, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Edward Purcell (d. 1932), "Passing by", 1875, stanzas 1-2,6 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "Passing by", alternate title: "There is a lady sweet and kind", 1919, published 1920, stanzas 1-2,4-6 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• GER German (Deutsch) (Linda Godry) , "War eine Dame so liebenswert und freundlich", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Das Fräulein", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936

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: 169