Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And [this]1 same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

[The]2 glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,
The higher he's a-getting
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
[But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times, still succeed the former. ]3

Then be not coy, but use your time;
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Lawes: "that"
² Dring: "That"
³ Lawes: "Expect not the last and worst, / Time still succeeds the former."

Authorship

• by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), "To the virgins, to make much of time" [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 David Arditti (b. 1964), "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", op. 9 no. 1, from Gather Ye Rosebuds, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Madeleine Dring (1923 - 1977), "To the virgins, to make much of time", from Dedications: 5 Poems by Robert Herrick, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "Make much of Time", op. 77 no. 3 (1951), published 1960 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano solo, three-part women's chorus, and strings ], from Of a Summer Day, no. 3, Association of American Choruses, Philadelphia [sung text checked 1 time]
• by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may", op. 36 no. 3, published 1956 [ mixed chorus and piano duet or small orchestra ], from Seven Songs, no. 3, London : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
• by Miriam Gideon (1906 - 1996), "Gather ye rosebuds", 1940, unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
• by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "Gather ye rosebuds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "Gather ye rosebuds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by William Lawes (1602 - 1645), "Gather ye rosebuds", from Songs from the Autograph Songbook, no. 30 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "Advice to Virgins", op. 35 no. 2 (1978), first performed 1979 [ voice and harp or harpsichord or piano, or mandolin and continuo ], from Simple songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Gather ye rosebuds", R. 21 (1922) [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ben Moore (b. 1960), "To the virgins, to make much of time" [ medium-high voice and piano ], from 14 Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Thomas Pasatieri (b. 1945), "Gather ye rosebuds", 2003 [ voice and piano ], from A rustling of angels, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "To the virgins", published 1904 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Two Partsongs, no. 2, London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
• by Betty Roe (b. 1930), "To Virgins, to Make Much of Time", published 2002 [ duet for soprano and baritone with piano ], from Two Duets, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Wilfred Sanderson (1878 - 1935), "Gather ye rosebuds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

• SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfredo García) , "A las vírgenes, para que aprovechen el tiempo", copyright © 2004, (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: 16
Word count: 97