by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
The fryar of orders gray
Language: English
It was a friar of orders gray, Walkt forth to tell his beades; And he met with a lady faire, Clad in a pilgrime's weedes. Now [Christ]1 thee save, thou reverend friar, I pray thee tell to me, If ever at [yon]2 holy shrine My true love thou didst see. And how should I [know your true love]3 From many another one? O by his cockle hat and staff And by his sandal shoone. O lady, [he is]4 dead and gone! Lady, he's dead and gone! And at his head a green grass turfe, And at his heels a stone. Weep no more, lady, weep no more, Thy sorrowe is in vaine: For violets pluckt the sweetest showers Will ne'er make grow againe. Yet stay, fair lady, rest awhile Beneath [this]5 cloyster wall: See through the hawthorn blows the cold wind, And [drizzly]6 rain doth fall. O stay me not, thou holy friar, O stay me not, I pray; No [drizzly]6 rain that falls on me Can wash my fault away.
View original text (without footnotes)
2 Callcott: "your"
3 Callcott: "your true love know"
4 Callcott: "he's"
5 Callcott: "yon"
6 Callcott: "drizzling"
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
Confirmed with Reliques of Ancient English, collected by Thomas Percy.
1 Callcott: "Heav'n"2 Callcott: "your"
3 Callcott: "your true love know"
4 Callcott: "he's"
5 Callcott: "yon"
6 Callcott: "drizzling"
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, "The fryar of orders gray" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by John Wall Callcott (1766 - 1821), "The fryar of orders gray", subtitle: "Glee for three voices" [ vocal trio ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2020-04-08
Line count: 28
Word count: 171