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,]3 These pretty country [folks]4 would lie, [In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,]5 [When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding; Sweet lovers love the spring.]3 This carol they began that hour, [With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,]3 How that a life was but a flower [In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,]5 [When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding; Sweet lovers love the spring.]3 [And therefore take the present time]6 [With]7 a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, For love is crownéd with the prime 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.
B. King sets lines 4-6
G. Bush sets stanzas 1-2, 4
H. Clough-Leighter sets stanzas 1, 3
A. Foote sets stanzas 1, 4
T. Morley sets stanzas 1, 3-4
F. Delius sets stanzas 1-2, 4
E. Coates sets stanzas 1, 2, 4
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Morley: "cornfields"
2 omitted by Barton, Bush, and Morley
3 omitted by Dring; omitted by Parry
4 Delius, Dring: "folk"
5 Barton, Bush, Morley: "In spring time, the only pretty ring time,"; omitted by Dring; omitted by Parry
6 Barton, Morley : "Then, pretty lovers, take the time"
7 Bush: "And with"
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in As You Like It, Act V, Scene 3 [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 Godfrey Edward Pellew Arkwright (1864 - 1944), "It was a lover", published [1902?] [ high medium voice and piano ], from Nine Songs from Shakespeare, London, Joseph Williams [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph W. Baber (b. 1937), "It was a lover and his lass ", op. 9 no. ? (1953-6) [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Shakespearean Madrigals, Set 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph W. Baber (b. 1937), "It was a lover and his lass", op. 19 no. ? (1954-64), published 1976 [ high voice and piano ], from Shakespearean Songs, Lexington : Kelley ; note: not musically related to the madrigal in op. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerard Barton (1861 - ?), "It was a lover and his lass", published 1803 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, Sir (1883 - 1953), "It was a lover", c1901 [ voice and piano ], from Two Songs of the Spring-Time, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dudley Buck (1839 - 1909), "Spring Song", op. 76 (Five Songs) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Bullard (b. 1947), "Pretty ring time" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Winifred May Bury (1897 - 1977), "It was a lover and his lass ", 1927 [ boys' chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geoffrey Bush (1920 - 1998), "It was a lover and his lass", 1956, stanzas 1-2,4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mary Grant Carmichael (1851 - 1935), "It was a lover and his lass", published 1886 [ vocal duet ], London: Boosey & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979), "It was a lover and his lass", 1924, published 1925, from Three Old English Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Clough-Leighter (1874 - 1956), "It was a lover and his lass", published 1906, stanzas 1,3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eric Coates (1886 - 1957), "It was a lover and his lass", published 1909, stanzas 1,2,4 [ voice and piano ], from Four Old English Songs, no. 4, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934), "It was a lover and his lass", 1916, published 1919, stanzas 1-2,4 [ voice and piano ], from Four Old English Lyrics, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Madeleine Dring (1923 - 1977), "It was a lover and his lass" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Donald Edeson , "It was a lover and his lass" [ TTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Bruce Faith (b. 1926), "It was a lover and his lass" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "It was a lover and his lass", op. 18 no. 5 (1940), from Let Us Garlands Bring, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "It was a lover and his lass", op. 10 (Three songs) no. 1, published 1885, stanzas 1,4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "It was a lover and his lass", op. 66 no. 1, published 1964 [ women's chorus, piano duet, and optional percussion ], from A Shakespeare Sequence, no. 1, London : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "It was a lover and his lass", op. 150 no. 7 (1980) [ high voice, oboe, and piano ], from Hebdomade, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "It was a lover and his lass", 1977 [ duet for soprano and baritone with piano ], from Four Shakespeare Duets, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "It was a lover and his lass " [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sven Eric Emanuel Johanson (1919 - 1997), "Lovers love the spring", 1974, copyright © 1978 [ mixed chorus and piano ], from Fancies, no. 6, Stockholm : C. Gehrmans Musikförlag ; New York : Walton Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. Frederick Keel (1871 - 1954), "It was a lover and his lass" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Betty Jackson King (1928 - 1994), "In the springtime", lines 4-6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957), "When birds do sing", op. 31 no. 4, from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "The Lover and his Lass", R. 76 no. 1 (1940), published 1940 [ high voice or medium voice and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "The Lover and his Lass", R. 102 [ 2-part chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Morley (1557 - 1602), "It was a lover and his lass", stanzas 1,3-4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Norman Houston O'Neill (1875 - 1934), "It was a lover", published 1922 [ voice and orchestra ], from Shakespeare Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "A spring song", op. 21 no. 2, published 1873 [ chorus ], from A Garland of Shakesperian and Other Old-Fashioned Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "It was a lover and his lass", op. 23 no. 3 (1921), published 1921 [ voice and piano (or vocal duet with piano, 1919) ], from Five Shakespeare Songs (Second Set), no. 3, London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "It Was A Lover", op. 89 (1945) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "It was a lover", op. 204 (1948) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "It Was A Lover", op. 370 (1952) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "It Was A Lover And His Lass", op. 518 (1958) [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "It Was A Lover", op. 523 (1958) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "It was a lover", op. 13 (Three songs) no. 3 (1925), published 1925 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "Pretty ring time", 1925, published 1925 [ voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Danish (Dansk), a translation by Edvard Lembcke (1815 - 1897) ; composed by Peter Arnold Heise.
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- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Camille de Sainte-Croix (1859 - 1915) ; composed by Paul Vidal.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Johann Herbeck, Friedrich Silcher.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845) , "Lied" ; composed by Ludwig Berger, Jan Karol Gall, Arnold Mendelssohn.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ida Goldschmidt, née Livingston (1863 - 1933) ; composed by Roger Quilter.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot)
- GER German (Deutsch) (Johann Heinrich Voss) , "Ein Bursch' und Mägdlein, flink und schön", first published 1819
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 189
Ein Liebster und sein Mädel schön, Mit heisa und ha und juchheisa trala! Die täten durch das Kornfeld gehn, Zur Maienzeit, der lustigen Paarezeit, Wann Vögel singen, tirlirelirei: Süß Liebe liebt den Mai. Und zwischen Halmen auf dem Rain, Mit heisa und ha und juchheisa trala! Legt sich das hübsche Paar hinein, Zur Maienzeit, der lustigen Paarezeit, Wann Vögel singen, tirlirelirei: Süß Liebe liebt den Mai. Sie sangen diese Melodei, Mit heisa und ha und juchheisa trala! Wie 's Leben nur 'ne Blume sei, Zur Maienzeit, der lustigen Paarezeit, Wann Vögel singen, tirlirelirei: Süß Liebe liebt den Mai. So nutzt die gegenwärt'ge Zeit, Mit heisa und ha und juchheisa trala! Denn Liebe lacht im Jugendkleid, Zur Maienzeit, der lustigen Paarezeit, Wann Vögel singen, tirlirelirei: Süß Liebe liebt den Mai.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), "Lied" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in 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 (Carl) Ludwig (Heinrich) Berger (1777 - 1839), "Frühlingsreigen", op. 19 (Acht deutsche Lieder) no. 4 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jan Karol Gall (1856 - 1912), "Lied der Pagen", op. 2, published 1881 [ vocal duet for two female voices with piano ], Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arnold Mendelssohn (1855 - 1933), "Zur Maienzeit", note: this may be the wrong poem for this song [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-07-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 129