Songs

Take, O Take those Lips Away

by Amy Beach From Three Shakespeare Songs

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Text

Take, O Take those Lips Away
English source: William Shakespeare

Take, o take those lips away,
That so sweetly were forsworn;
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn:
But my kisses bring again;
Seals of love, but seal'd in vain, sealed in vain.

Hide, o hide those hills of snow
that thy frozen bosom wears,
On whose tops the pinks that grow
are yet of those that April wears;
But first set my poor heart free,
Bound in those icy chains by thee.

Composer

Amy Beach

The composer and pianist Amy Beach (1867-1944) is recognised as a leading figure in American music, the first woman to gain success with large-scale musical forms. She came from a prosperous family in New Hampshire. Her mother Clara Cheney was a…

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…

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