An Ode for Ben Jonson (Herrick, set by M. Gideon) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


Ah, Ben! 
Say how, or when
Shall we, thy guests,
Meet at those lyric feasts
Made at the Sun,
The Dog, the Triple Tun?¹
Where we such clusters had,
As made us nobly wild, not mad;
And yet each verse of thine
Out-did the meat, out-did the frolic wine.

My Ben!
Or come again,
Or send to us
Thy wit's great overplus;
But teach us yet
Wisely to husband it,
Lest we that talent spend;
And having once brought to an end
That precious stock, the store
Of such a wit the world should have no more.

View text without footnotes
Note: the "Him" in the title is Ben Jonson. In the collection, this follows the poem "Upon Ben Jonson"
¹ The Sun, The Dog, etc. were famous taverns.

Authorship

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

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

Miriam Gideon (1906-1996)

Poet to Poet: an Ode to Ben Jonson

Date added to the website: 2009-02-16.

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