Crabbed age and youth (Shakespeare, set by M. Dring, M. White, C. Parry) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


Crabbed age and youth cannot live together:
Youth is full of [pleasance]¹, age is full of care;
Youth like summer morn, age like winter weather;
Youth like summer brave, age like winter bare.
Youth is full of sport, age's breath is short;
Youth is nimble, age is lame;
Youth is hot and bold, age is weak and cold;
Youth is wild, and age is tame.
Age, I do abhor thee; youth, I do adore thee;
O, my love, my love is young!
Age, I do defy thee: O, sweet shepherd, hie thee,
For methinks thou stay'st too long.

View text without footnotes
¹ White: "pleasure"

Authorship

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

The Passionate Pilgrim

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

Madeleine Dring (1923-1977)

Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918)

English Lyrics

Maude Valérie White (1855-1937)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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