by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Bacchus is a pow'r divine
Language: English
Bacchus is a pow'r divine, For he no sooner fills my head With mighty wine, But all my cares resign, And droop, then sink down dead. Then the pleasing thoughts begin, And I in riches flow, At least I fancy so. And without thought of want I sign, Stretch'd on the earth, my head all around With flowers weav'd into a garland crown'd. Then I begin to live, And scorn what all the world can show or give. Let the brave fools that fondly think Of honour, and delight, To make a noise and fight Go seek out war, whilst I seek peace and drink. Then fill my glass, fill it high, Some perhaps think it fit to fall and die, But when the bottles rang'd to make war with me, The fighting fool shall see, when I am sunk, The diff'rence to lie dead, and lie dead drunk.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked 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 Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Bacchus is a pow'r divine", Z. 360, published 1698. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 149