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by Nathaniel Lee (1653? - 1692)

Hail to the myrtle shade
Language: English 
Hail to the myrtle shade,
All hail to the nymphs of the fields!
Kings will not here invade,
Though virtue all freedom yields:
Beauty here opens her arms
To soften the languishing mind,
And Phyllis unlocks her charms;
Ah! Phyllis, ah! why so kind?

Phyllis, thou soul of love,
Thou joy of the neighb'ring swains:
Phyllis, that crowns the grove, 
And Phyllis, that gilds the plains:
Phyllis, that ne'er had the skill
To paint and to patch and be fine;
Yet Phyllis, whose eyes can kill,
Whom Nature has made divine.

Phyllis, whose charming song
Makes labour and pains a delight:
Phyllis, that makes the day young,
And shortens the livelong night:
Phyllis, whose lips like May
Still laugh at the sweets that they bring,
Where love never knows decay,
But sets with eternal spring.

Text Authorship:

  • by Nathaniel Lee (1653? - 1692) [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 Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Hail to the myrtle shade", Z. 606 no. 8 (1680), from the incidental music to Theodosius - or - The Force of Love, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Virginia Knight

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 135

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