A Lover And His Lass


A poem by William Shakespeare

A Lover And His Lass

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 crown-ed 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.