by John Dryden (1631 - 1700)
Fair Robin I Love
Language: English
Fair Robin I love and hourly die, But not for a lip, nor a languishing eye; He's fickle and false, and there we agree, For I am as false and as fickle as he. We neither believe what either can say; And neither believing, we neither betray. 'Tis civil to swear and say things, of course; We mean not the taking for better or worse. When present we love; when absent agree: I think not of Robin, nor Robin of me. The legend of love no couple can find, So easy to part or so easily joined.
Text Authorship:
- by John Dryden (1631 - 1700), from Amphitryon, first published 1690 [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 Kirke Mechem (b. 1925), "Fair Robin I Love", op. 58 no. 3 [soprano and piano], from To an Absent Love, no. 3, [New York] : G. Schirmer : Associated Music Publishers ; Milwaukee, WI : Distributed by Hal Leonard [text verified 1 time]
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: 97