by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620)
Thou art not fair
Language: English
Thou art not fair for all thy red and white, For all those rosy ornaments in thee. Thou art not sweet nor made of mere delight, Nor fair, nor sweet unless thou pity me. I will not, I will not smooth thy fancy, Thou shalt prove that beauty is no beauty without love. Yet love not me, nor seek thou to allure My thoughts with beauty, were it now divine; Thy smiles and kisses I cannot endure, I'll not be wrapped up in those arms of thine. Now show if thou be a woman right, Embrace, and kiss, and love me in despite.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), from A Booke of Ayres, first published 1601 [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 Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), "Thou art not fair", published 1601, from A Booke of Ayres = A Book of Airs, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Thou art not fair", 1920 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicholas Lanier (1588 - 1666), "Thou art not fair", published 1652 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Männerstolz", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
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