Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
William Shakespeare. 15641616137. It was a Lover and his Lass
IT was a lover and his lass, | |
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, | |
That o’er the green corn-field did pass, | |
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, | |
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; | 5 |
Sweet lovers love the spring. | |
Between the acres of the rye, | |
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, | |
These pretty country folks would lie, | |
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, | 10 |
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; | |
Sweet lovers love the spring. | |
This carol they began that hour, | |
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, | |
How that life was but a flower | 15 |
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, | |
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; | |
Sweet lovers love the spring. | |
And, therefore, take the present time | |
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, | 20 |
For love is crown`d with the prime | |
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, | |
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; | |
Sweet lovers love the spring. |