It was a lover and his lass

It was a lover and his lass,
  With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino
That o'er the green [corn-field]1 did pass.
  In [the]2 spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.

[Between the acres of the rye,
  With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
These pretty country [folks]3 would lie,
  In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring. ]4

[This carol they began that hour,
  With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
How that [a life]5 was but a flower
  In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.]6

[And therefore take the present time]7
  [With]8 a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
For love is crownéd with the prime
  In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.

by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from As You Like It, Act V, Scene 3

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Gerard Barton (1861-?) , "It was a lover and his lass", published 1803.
by Dudley Buck (1839-1909) , "Spring Song", op. 76 (Five Songs) no. 2.
by Geoffrey Bush (1920-1998) , "It was a lover and his lass", 1956.
by Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) , "It was a lover and his lass", 1924, published 1925, from Three Old English Songs, no. 1.
by Henry Clough-Leighter (1874-1956) , "It was a lover and his lass", published 1906, stanzas 1,3.
by Frederick Delius (1862-1934) , "It was a lover and his lass", 1915-6, published 1919, stanzas 1-2,4 [voice and piano], from Four Old English Lyrics, no. 4.
by Madeleine Dring (1923-1977) , "It was a lover and his lass"
by Donald Edeson , "It was a lover and his lass" [TTBB chorus a cappella]
by Richard Bruce Faith (1926-) , "It was a lover and his lass"
by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) , "It was a lover and his lass", op. 18 no. 5 (1940), from Let Us Garlands Bring, no. 5.
by Arthur Foote (1853-1937) , "It was a lover and his lass", op. 10 no. 1, published 1885, stanzas 1,4.
by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910-1998) , "It was a lover and his lass", from Six Shakespeare Songs, no. ?
by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910-1998) , "It was a lover and his lass" [soprano and baritone duet with piano], from Four Shakespeare Duets, no. 1.
by Frederick Keel (1871-1954) , "It was a lover and his lass"
by Betty Jackson King (1928-1994) , "In the springtime", lines 4-6.
by Erich Korngold (1897-1957) , "When birds do sing", op. 31 no. 4, from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 4.
by Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950) , "The Lover and his Lass", 1940, published 1940 [high or medium voice and piano], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1.
by Thomas Morley (1557-1602) , "It was a lover and his lass"
by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918) , "A spring song", op. 21 no. 2, published 1873 [choral], from A Garland of Shakesperian and Other Old-Fashioned Songs, no. 2.
by Roger Quilter (1877-1953) , "It was a lover and his lass", op. 23 no. 3.
by Peter Warlock (1894-1930) [pseudonym] , "Pretty ring time", 1925, published 1925.

by (Philipp) Friedrich Silcher (1789-1860) , "Süß' Liebe liebt den Mai" [four voices]

FIN Finnish (Paavo Cajander)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Ja sulhaispoika se tyttöineen

Ja sulhaispoika se tyttöineen,
Hih, hei vaan, hei, tilu, tilu, tilu, lei,
Ruisvainion kulkivat siimekseen.
Kevät-aika nyt on, niin, kihla-aika nyt on,
Kun metsät soi, soi soiseli soi,
Kevät lemmen aika on, oil

Ja nurmelle tähkien heilintään, 
Hih, hei vaan, hei, tilu, tilu, tilu, lei, 
Ne nuoret laskivat lepäämään. 
Kevät-aika nyt on, niin, kihla-aika nyt on,
Kun metsät soi, soi soiseli soi, 
Kevät lemmen aika on, oi!

Siell' laulavat tyttö ja sulhainen, 
Hih, hei 'vaan, hei, tilu, tilu, tilu, lei,
"Elämämme on niinkuin kukkainen". 
Kevät-aika nyt on, niin, kihla-aika nyt on, 
Kun metsät soi, soi soiseli soi, 
Kevät lemmen aika on, oi!

Nykyhetki se hetki on herttaisin,
Hih, hei vaan, hei, tilu, tilu, tilu, lei,
Kevät kukkima-aika on lemmenkin.
Kevät-aika nyt on, niin, kihla-aika nyt on,
Kun metsät soi, soi soiseli soi,
Kevät lemmen aika on, oi!

by Paavo Cajander (1846-1913)

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from As You Like It, Act V, Scene 3 GER

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

[ None yet in the database ]

Date added to the website: 2009-11-05.