William Shakespeare 1. Fear no more the heat o' the sun, Nor the furious winter’s rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages: Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. Fear no more the frown o' the great; Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke; Care no more to clothe and eat; To thee the reed is as the oak: The scepter, learning, physic, must All follow this, and come to dust. Fear no more the lightning flash, Nor the all-dreaded thunder stone; Fear not slander, censure rash; Thou hast finished joy and moan: All lovers young, all lovers must Consign to thee, and come to dust. No exorciser harm thee! Nor no witchcraft charm thee! Ghost unlaid forbear thee! Nothing ill come near thee! Quiet consummation have; And renownèd be thy grave! ~~~~~~~~~~ 2. Under the greenwood tree, Who loves to lie with me. And turn his merry note, Unto the sweet bird's throat: Come hither, come hither, come hither. Here shall he see No enemy But winter and rough weather. Who doth ambition shun, And loves to live i' the sun, Seeking the food he eats, And pleased with what he gets, Come hither, come hither, come hither. Here shall he see No enemy |: But winter :| winter and rough weather. ~~~~~~~~~~ 3. It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino That o'er the green corn-field did pass. In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey |: ding a ding ding; :| ding a ding 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 would lie, In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey |: ding a ding ding; :| ding a ding ding Sweet lovers love the spring. This carol they began that hour, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, How that life was but a flower |: In spring time, :| the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey |: ding a ding ding; :| ding a ding ding |: Sweet lovers:| love the spring. And therefore take the present time With 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 ding; :| ding a ding ding Sweet lovers love the spring. ~~~~~~~~~~ 4. Take, O take those lips away, That so sweetly were forsworn; And those eyes, the break of day, Lights that do mislead the morn: But my kisses bring again, Seals of love, but sealed, But sealed in vain! ~~~~~~~~~~ 5. When that I was and a little tiny boy, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, A foolish thing was but a toy, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came to man's estate, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came, alas! to wive, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, By swaggering could I never thrive, For the rain it raineth every day. A great while ago the world begun, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, But that's all one, our play is done, And |: we'll strive :| to please you every day.
I agree, low voice, because I have the high voice copy in front of me and it goes up to an high F at "golden lads and girls" which she does not do here.
I am singing Fear no more for solo and ensemble and listening to this has helped me learn the song immensely! :) This is the best version of the song that I've seen on youtube! :D Amazing! :)
I'm writing a paper on "it was a lover and his lass" right now, and I've found that it was originally for duet in G major. Willemse's version is the original solo rendition (mezzo/bari In the Low Voice Literature books) in E major. There is also a high voice in A-flat major.
Your singing is very beautiful and expressive. Thanks. (I like Quilter's lyrical melody with "Fear No More..." much better than Finzi's somewhat angry approach.)
