The good‑morrow

I wonder, by my troth, what thou, and I 
Did, till we lov'd? Were we not wean'd till then? 
But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly? 
Or snorted we in the seven sleepers' den? 
'Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be. 
If ever any beauty I did see, 
Which I desir'd and got, 'twas but a dream of thee. 

And now good morrow to our waking souls, 
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room, an everywhere. 
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, 
Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown, 
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one. 

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears, 
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest 
Where can we find two better hemispheres 
Without sharp North, without declining West? 
Whatever dies was not mixed equally; 
If our two loves be one, or thou and I 
Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.

by John Donne (1572-1631) , "The good-morrow"

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

by Samuel Hans Adler (1928-) , "The good morrow", from Unholy Sonnets, no. 1.
by Malcolm Henry Arnold (1921-2006) , "The Good-morrow", op. 114 no. ?, published 1977, from Two John Donne Songs, no. ?
by Donald McWhinnie , "The Good-morrow", 194-? [voice and piano]
by Bernard George Stevens (1916-1983) , "The Good-morrow", published 1948, from Three Songs: The Words by John Donne, no. ?
by Giles Swayne , "The Good-morrow", 1971, first performed 1979. [mezzo-soprano and piano]

ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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