Begone, dull care! (Anonymous, set by (Benjamin Britten)) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Begone, dull care!

Language: English

Begone, dull care! I prithee begone from me!
Begone, dull care! you and I shall never agree.
Long time hast thou been tarrying here
And fain thou woulds't me kill,
But, i' faith, dull care,
Thou never shall have my will.

Too much care will make a young man turn grey,
And too much care will turn an old man to clay.
My wife shall dance and I will sing
And merrily pass the day
For I hold it one of the wisest things
To drive dull care away.

Authorship

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author ( 17^th cent. ) , "Begone, dull care!", from English Lyrical Verse - King's Treasuries [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Begone, dull care!", op. 7 no. 1, published 1935 [children's chorus and piano], from Friday Afternoons, no. 1. [
text verified 1 time
]

Researcher for this text: Tom White

This text was added to the website: 2007-10-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 89