Songs

O mistress mine

by Roger Quilter From Three Shakespeare Songs (First Set) (1905) Op. 6

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Text

O mistress mine (1602)
English source: William Shakespeare

O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O stay and hear; your true love’s coming,
That can sing both high and low;
Trip no further, pretty sweeting;
Journeys end in lovers’ meeting,
Every wise man’s son doth know.

What is love? ’tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What’s to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty;
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty;
Youth’s a stuff will not endure.

From Twelfth Night, Act II Scene 3

Composer

Roger Quilter

Roger Cuthbert Quilter was an English composer, known particularly for his songs.

Poet

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet, and the "Bard of Avon". His extant…

Performances

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