by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637)
Still to be neat, still to be drest
Language: English
Still to be neat, still to be drest, As you were going to a feast; Still to be powder'd, still perfum'd: Lady, Lady, it is to be presum'd: Though art's hid causes are not found, All is not sweet, all is not sound. Give me a look, give me a face, That makes simplicity a grace; Robes loosely flowing, hair is free; Such sweet neglect more taketh me Than all th'adulteries of art; They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.
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Text Authorship:
- by Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637) [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 Ernst Alexander 'Sas' Bunge (1924 - 1980), "Still to be neat", published 1966, from Three poems of Ben Jonson, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geoffrey Bush (1920 - 1998), "A Rebuke", 1952 [ baritone and piano ], from Three Songs of Ben Jonson, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Still to be neat", note: from the unfinished opera The Spanish Lady. [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Song from Epicene", 1921 [ voice and piano ], revised 1925 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Süße Saumsal", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
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: 81