A Lover and His Lass

[94. William Shakespeare]

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:

Sweet lovers love the Spring.

Between the acres of the rye

These pretty country folks would lie:

This carol they began that hour,

How that life was but a flower:

And therefore take the present time

With a hey and a ho, and a hey-nonino!

For love is crownéd with the prime

In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,

When birds do sing hey ding a ding:

Sweet lovers love the Spring.