by Philip Sidney, Sir (1554 - 1586)
O Lord, how vain are all our frail delights
Language: English
Available translation(s): GER
O Lord, how vain are all our frail delights; how mix'd with sour the sweet of our desire; how subject oft to Fortune's subtle slights; how soon consum'd like snow against the fire. Sith in this life our pleasures all be vain, o lord, grant me that I may them disdain. How fair in show where need doth force to wish; how much they loathe when heart hath them at will; how things possess'd do seem not worth a rish (rush), where greedy minds for more do covet still. Sith in this life our pleasures all be vain, O lord, grant me that I may them disdain. What prince so great as doth not seem to want; what man so rich but still doth covet more; to whom so large was ever Fortune's grant as for to have a quiet mind in store. Sith in this life our pleasures all be vain o Lord, grant me that I may them disdain.
Authorship:
- by Philip Sidney, Sir (1554 - 1586) [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 William Byrd (1542?3? - 1623), "O Lord, how vain are all our frail delights" [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "O Herr, wie nichtig sind all unsere vergänglichen Freuden", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann
This text was added to the website: 2004-06-26
Line count: 18
Word count: 161