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.
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