This edition was prepared by Brian Russell — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Away with these self-loving lads
Staff Notation • Secular, Lute songs
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2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SATB · Suzi Nassen Stefl
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Away with these self-loving lads by John Dowland — Lyrics
1. Away with these selfloving lads,
Whom Cupids arrow never glads,
Away, poor souls that sigh and weep
In love of those that lie and sleep,
For Cupid is a meadow god,
And forceth none to kiss the rod.
2. God Cupids shaft, like destiny,
Doth either good or ill decree,
Desert is born out of his bow,
Reward upon his foot doth go
What fools are they that have not known
That love like no laws but his own!
3. My songs that be of Cynthia's praise
I wear her rings on holidays,
On every tree I write her name,
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About Away with these self-loving lads
John Dowland's secular SATB setting of Away with these self-loving lads explores the capricious nature of love through a lively, imitative texture. The composer opens with a jubilant and energetic melodic line, which is soon taken up by the other voices in turn. The music vividly depicts the text's dismissal of unrequited love and sighs, celebrating instead a more passionate and unbridled form of affection, one that acknowledges no laws but its own. The words themselves, a secular English poem, present a spirited argument against melancholic devotion, championing instead the power and unpredictability of Cupid's influence. The piece is a delightful example of Renaissance part-music, full of rhythmic vitality and vocal interplay.
