by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)
To the Willow‑tree
Language: English
Thou art to all lost love the best, The only true plant found, Wherewith young men and maids distress'd, And left of love, are crown'd. When once the lover's rose is dead, Or laid aside forlorn: Then willow-garlands 'bout the head Bedew'd with tears are worn. When with neglect, the lover's bane, Poor maids rewarded be, For their love lost, their only gain Is but a wreath from thee. And underneath thy cooling shade, When weary of the light, The love-spent youth and love-sick maid Come to weep out the night.
Confirmed with Works of Robert Herrick, Vol I, ed. by Alfred Pollard, London, Lawrence & Bullen, 1891, page 132.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), "To the Willow-Tree" [author's text checked 1 time 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 Madeleine Dring (1923 - 1977), "To the willow tree" [ voice and piano ], from Dedications: 5 Poems by Robert Herrick, no. 3, confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "To the willow tree", op. 85 (Nine Sets of Four Songs Each, Set IV) no. 3 (1930) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "To the Willow Tree", op. 608 (1962) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "To the Willow-tree", from Flight For Heaven, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2006-01-17
Line count: 16
Word count: 91