To the virgins, to make much of time

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And [this]1 same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,
The higher he's a-getting
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
[But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times, still succeed the former. ]2

Then be not coy, but use your time;
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.

by Robert Herrick (1591-1674) , "To the virgins, to make much of time"

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

by David Arditti (1964-) , "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", op. 9 no. 1, from Gather Ye Rosebuds, no. 1.
by Madeleine Dring (1923-1977) , "To the virgins, to make much of time", from Dedications: 5 Poems by Robert Herrick, no. 2.
by Miriam Gideon (1906-1996) , "Gather ye rosebuds", 1940, unpublished
by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910-1998) , "Gather ye rosebuds" [voice and piano]
by William Lawes (1602-1645) , "Gather ye rosebuds"
by Benjamin Moore (1960-) , "To the virgins, to make much of time"
by Thomas Pasatieri (1945-) , "Gather ye rosebuds", 2003 [voice and piano], from A rustling of angels, no. 4.
by Betty Roe (1930-) , "To Virgins, to Make Much of Time", published 2002 [duet for soprano and baritone with piano], from Two Duets, no. 1.

SPA Spanish (Alfredo García)

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