Fair is my love, but not so fair as fickle (Shakespeare, set by J. Mucci) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


[Fair is my love, but not so fair as fickle;
Mild as a dove, but neither true nor trusty;
Brighter than glass, and yet, as glass is, brittle;
Softer than wax, and yet, as iron, rusty:
A lily pale, with damask dye to grace her,
None fairer, nor none falser to deface her.

Her lips to mine how often hath she joined,
Between each kiss her oaths of true love swearing!
How many tales to please me hath she coined,
Dreading my love, the loss thereof still fearing!
Yet in the midst of all her pure protestings,
Her faith, her oaths, her tears, and all were jestings.]¹

She burn'd with love, as straw with fire flameth;
She burn'd out love, as soon as straw outburneth;
[She framed the love, and yet she foil'd the framing;
She bade love last, and yet she fell a-turning.
Was this a lover, or a lecher whether?
Bad in the best, though excellent in neither.]¹

View text without footnotes
¹ omitted by Mucci

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)

[ None yet in the database ]

Text is used as part of a longer work

John C. Mucci

Strange Attractors

full setting text

Date added to the website: 2004-10-20.

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