by John Berkenhead, Sir (c1617 - 1679)
O how I hate thee now
Language: English
O how I hate thee now And my selfe too, For loving such a false, false thing as thee! Who hourly canst depart From heart, to heart, To take new harbour as thou didst in me; But when the world shall spie, And know thy shifts as well as I, They'l shut their hearts and take thee in no more; He that can dwell with none, must out of door. Thy pride hath overgrown All this great Town Which stoops, and bowes, as low as I to you; Thy falshood might support All the new Court Which shifts, and turne, almost as oft as thou. But to expresse thee by, Ther's not an object low, or high, For 'twill be found, when ere the measures tride, Nothing can read thy falshood, but thy pride.
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Authorship:
- by John Berkenhead, Sir (c1617 - 1679) [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 Lawes (c1595 - 1662), "O how I hate thee now", published 1655 [ voice and continuo ], from The Second Book of Ayres, and Dialogues, no. 15, Confirmed with The Second Book of Ayres and Dialogues, for One, Two, and Three, by Henry Lawes , John Playford, London 1655, Page 14. [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2021-12-30
Line count: 20
Word count: 134