Have you seen but a whyte Lilie grow

Have you seen but a [whyte]1 Lilie grow
before rude hands had touch'd it;
Have you mark'd but the fall of the snow
before the [Earth]2 hath smucht it.
Have you felt the wool of [Beaver]3,
Or Swansdown ever;
or have smelt of the Bud of the Bryer,
Or the Nard in the fire;
Or have tasted the Bag of the Bee;
O so whyte, O so soft, O so sweet, so sweet,
so sweet is she!
O so whyte, O so soft, O so sweet,
so sweet, so sweet is she!

by Ben Jonson (1572-1637) , from The Devil's an Ass.

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

by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Have you seen but a whyte Lilie grow", 1614 [voice, lute], note: manuscript is in the British Museum.
by Frederick Delius (1862-1934) , "So white, so soft, so sweet is she", 1914-5, published 1919 [voice and piano], from Four Old English Lyrics, no. 2.
by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) , "Have you seen but a bright lily grow?"

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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