1.
Was not good King Solomon
Ravishèd in sundry wise
With every lively paragon
That glisterèd before his eyes?
If this be true as true it was,
Lady, lady,
Why should not I serve you, alas,
My dear lady?
2.
When Paris was enamourèd
With Helena, dame beauty’s peer,
Whom Venus first him promisèd
To venture on and not to fear,
What sturdy storms endurèd he,
Lady, lady,
To win her lover it would be,
My dear lady.
3.
Know ye not how Troilus
Languishèd and lost his joy
With fits and fevers marvellous
For Cressida that dwelt in Troy?
Till pity planted in her breast,
Lady, lady,
To sleep with him and grant him rest,
My dear lady.
5.
I read sometime how venturous
Leander was his love to please,
Who swum the waters perilous
Of Abidon, those surging seas,
To come to her where as she lay,
Lady, lady,
Till he was drownèd by the way,
My dear lady.
6.
What say ye then to Priamus
That promisèd his love to meet,
And found by fortune marvellous
A bloody cloth before his feet?
For Thisby’s sake himself he slew,
Lady, lady,
To prove that he was a lover true,
My dear lady.
7.
When Hercules for Eronie
Murderèd a monster fell,
He put himself in jeopardy,
Perilous as the stories tell,
Rescuing her upon the shore,
Lady, lady,
Which else by lot had died therefore,
My dear lady.
8.
Anaxaretis beautiful,
When Iphis did behold and see
With sighs and sobbings pitiful
That paragon long wooed he,
And when he could not win her so,
Lady, lady,
He went and hung himself for woe,
My dear lady.
9.
Besides these matters marvellous,
Good lady, yet I can tell the more,
The gods have been full amorous
As Jupiter by learnèd lore,
Who changed his shape as fame hath spread,
Lady, lady,
To come to Alcmene’s bed,
My dear lady.
10.
And if beauty breed such blissfulness,
Enamouring both God and man,
Good lady, let no willfulness,
Exuperate your beauty then
To slay the hearts that yield and crave,
Lady, lady,
The grant of your goodwill to have,
My dear lady.