If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee. 
If ever wife [was]1 happy in a man, 
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor [ought]2 but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray. 
Then while we live, in love let's so [persever]3,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with The Complete Works of Anne Bradstreet, 1981.

¹ Wilkinson: "were"
² Wilkinson: "aught"
³ Rorem: "persevere"

Authorship

• by Anne (Dudley) Bradstreet (1612? - 1672), "To my dear and loving husband" [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 Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "To a loving husband", 195-? [voice, piano] [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Leslie R. Bassett (b. 1923), "To my dear and loving husband", published 1977 [soprano and piano], from Five Love Songs, no. 3. [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990), "To my dear and loving husband", published 1977 [vocal sextet for soprano, alto, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass, with orchestra], from Songfest, no. 6. [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Andrew Hudson , "To my dear and loving husband" [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Ned Rorem (b. 1923), "To my dear and loving husband", published 1979, from Women's Voices, no. 3. [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

This text (or a part of it) is used in a work

• by Stephen Wilkinson (b. 1919), "Nosegay" [voice and piano], from the collection Eternal Summer, no. 12..
  • Go to the full setting text.
    

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 103