by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Is Love a boy? What means he then to...
Language: English
Is Love a boy? What means he then to strike? Or is he blind? Why will he be a guide? Is he a man? Why doth he hurt his like? Is he a God? Why doth he men deride? No one of these, but one compact of all, A wilful boy, a man still dealing blows, of purpose blind, to lead men to their thrall, a God that rules unruly, God he knows. Boy, pity me that am a child again, blind be no more, my guide to make me stray, man use thy might to force away my pain, God do me good, and lead me to my way: and if thou be'st a power to me unknown, power of my life, let here thy grace be shown.
W. Byrd sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
W. Byrd sets stanza 2 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 William Byrd (1542?3? - 1623), "Is Love a boy?", published 1589, stanza 1 [SATB chorus a cappella], from the collection Songs of sundrie natures, no. 15. [text verified 1 time]
- by William Byrd (1542?3? - 1623), "Boy pity me", published 1589, stanza 2 [SATB chorus a cappella], from the collection Songs of sundrie natures, no. 16. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-09
Line count: 14
Word count: 129