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by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

Breake of Day
Language: English 
Choose for Diff
'Tis  true, 'tis day, what though it be? 
O wilt thou there fore rise from me? 
Why should we rise, be cause 'tis light? 
Did we lie downe because 'twas night ? 
Love which in spight of dark brought us hether,
Should in spight of light keepe us together. 
Light hath no tongue, but is all eye; 
If it could speake as well as spie, 
This were the worst, that it could say, 
That being well, I faine would stay, 
And that I lov'd my heart and honor so 
That I would not from him, that had them, goe.
Must businesse thee from hence remove? 
Oh, that's the worst disease of love,
The poore, the foule, the false, love can 
Admit, but not the busied man . 
He which hath businesse, and makes love, doth doe 
Such wrong, as when a maryed man doth wooe. 
'Tis a tempo true, 'tis day, what though it be? 
O wilt thou therefore rise from me?

Text Authorship:

  • by John Donne (1572 - 1631) [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 Emily Doolittle (b. 1972), "Breake of Day", 2001, copyright © 2001 [ soprano and viola d'amore ], from Virelais, no. 2, Composers Edition
        Publisher: Composers Edition [external link]  [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-08-18
Line count: 20
Word count: 161

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