by William Browne, of Tavistock (1588 - 1643)
Steer hither, steer your winged pines
Language: English
Steer hither, steer your winged pines, All-beaten mariners! Here lie Love's undiscovered mines, A prey to passengers; [Perfumes far sweeter than the best Which make the Phoenix urn and nest. Fear not your ships, Nor any to oppose you save our lips; But come on shore Where no joy dies till love hath gotten more.]1 [For swelling waves our panting breasts, Where never storms arise, Exchange, and be awhile our guests; For stars gaze on our eyes.]1 The compass Love shall hourly sing, And as he goes about the ring, We [shall]2 not miss To tell each point he nameth with a kiss, Then come on shore, Where no joy dies till love hath gotten more.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Maconchy.
2 Maconchy: "will"
Authorship:
- by William Browne, of Tavistock (1588 - 1643), "Song of the Sirens", appears in Ulysses and Circe [a masque], first published 1615 [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 Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "Sirens' song", 1974 [ chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Still (1910 - 1971), "Song of the Sirens" [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-05-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 116