I care not for these Ladies

I care not for [these]1 Ladies
That must be wooed and prayed,
Give me kind Amarillis
The wanton country maid;
Nature art disdaineth,
Her beauty is her own;
   For when we court and kiss,
   She cries, forsooth, let go;
   But when we come where comfort is,
   She never will say no.

If I love Amarillis,
She gives me fruit and flowers,
But if we love these Ladies,
We must give golden showers;
Give them gold that sell love,
Give me the nut brown lass,
    For when we court and kiss....

These ladies must have pillows,
And beds by strangers wrought,
Give me a Bower of willows,
Of moss and leaves unbought,
And fresh Amarillis,
With milk and honey fed,
     For when we court and kiss....

by Thomas Campion (1567-1620)

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

by Thomas Campion (1567-1620) , "I care not for these Ladies"
by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960) , "Amaryllis", op. 116 no. 2 (1948), published 1949 [voice and piano], from Two Old English Lyrics, no. 2.
by Brian Holmes (1946-) , "I care not for these Ladies", from Six Ayres, no. 1.

Date added to the website: 2004-08-14.

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