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by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

The good morrow
Language: English 
Our translations:  ITA
I wonder, by my troth, what thou, and I 
Did, till we lov'd? Were we not wean'd till then? 
But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly? 
Or snorted we in the seven sleepers' den? 
'Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be. 
If ever any beauty I did see, 
Which I desir'd and got, 'twas but a dream of thee. 

And now good morrow to our waking souls, 
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room, an everywhere. 
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, 
Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown, 
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one. 

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears, 
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest 
Where can we find two better hemispheres 
Without sharp North, without declining West? 
Whatever dies was not mixed equally; 
If our two loves be one, or thou and I 
Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.

Text Authorship:

  • by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "The good-morrow" [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 Samuel Hans Adler (b. 1928), "The good morrow" [tenor and piano], from Unholy Sonnets, no. 1. [ sung text verified 1 time]
  • by Malcolm Henry Arnold (1921 - 2006), "The Good-morrow", op. 114 no. ?, published 1977, from Two John Donne Songs [ sung text not verified ]
  • by Peter W. F. Lawson (b. 1951), "The good‑morrow", 1978 [soprano or tenor and piano], from Care Charmer Sleepe, no. 1. [ sung text not verified ]
  • by Donald McWhinnie , "The Good-morrow", 194-? [voice and piano] [ sung text not verified ]
  • by Bernard George Stevens (1916 - 1983), "The Good-morrow", published 1948, from Three Songs: The Words by John Donne [ sung text not verified ]
  • by Giles Swayne , "The Good-morrow", 1971, first performed 1979. [mezzo-soprano and piano] [ sung text not verified ]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Il buongiorno", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 174

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