by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678)
Foolish Lover, go and seek
Language: English
Foolish Lover, go and seek For the damask of the rose, [And]1 the lilies white dispose To adorn thy mistress cheek: Steal some star out of the sky, Rob the phoenix, and the east Of her wealthy sweets divest, To enrich her breath or eye! We thy borrow'd pride despise: For this wine to which we are Votaries, is richer far Than her [cheek]2, or breath, or eyes. And should that coy fair one view These diviner beauties, she In this flame would rival thee, And be taught to love thee too. Come, then, break thy wanton chain, That when this brisk wine hath spread On thy paler cheek a red, Thou, like us, may'st Love disdain. Love, thy power must yield to wine! And whilst thus ourselves we arm, Boldly we defy thy charm: For these flames [extinguish]3 thine.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Gamble: "or"
2 Gamble: "cheeks"
3 Gamble: "distinguish"
Confirmed with Thomas Stanley: his original lyrics, complete, in their collated readings of 1647, 1651, 1657 by Thomas Stanley, edited by Louise Imogen Guiney, J R Tutin, Hull 1907. Page 28.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Stanley (1625 - 1678), "Song" [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 John Gamble (d. 1687), no title, published 1657 [ voice and bass continuo ], from Ayres and dialogues, no. 14, Confirmed with Ayres and dialogues (to be sung to the theorbo-lute or bass-viol) by John Gamble. Printed by W. Godbid for Humphry Mosley at the Princes-Arms In St. Paul's Church-yard, London 1657.
Score: IMSLP [external link]  [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-30
Line count: 24
Word count: 144