Lyrics By: Mu’allim Rabah az-Zafar, OP
© 1994 - Ross E. Wilkins

I sing to you of my love that I hold so dear,
Here in my heart, like a gold treasure.
That I love so freely ‘tis a wondrous thing,
She gives me joy, makes me so happy.

Chorus
Her lips are just like wine, sublime, divine!
Oh, in her arms dare I say let my cares fall away, I love her madly!
To have her in my arms with all her charms 

Oh, when she smiles I can see all the love there for me, I love her gladly! 

I sing of my sweet lady, she who is so fair,
Soft is her voice and her silken hair.
Her eyes they are like sapphires of the brightest blue,
Lost in their depths I’m a drunken fool.

Chorus

Sung to the tune of “Will said to his Mammy”, composed by Robert Jones.
The Baltimore Consort & the Merry Companions. “Will said to his Mammy.” The Art of the Bawdy Song. Troy, NY; Dorian Recordings, 1992.

The original song is from A Mvsicall Dreame or the Fovrth Booke of Ayres, published in 1609. [Fascimile Reprint: English Lute Songs, 1597-1632, vol 29, ed. Greer, David. London: Scolar Press, 1980]

For my version the tune was intentionally shortened in an effort to make it more palatable to a modern audience. The original version was structured as follows: two verses, the chorus twice, two verses, the chorus twice, two verses, and then the chorus twice more. The second repetition of the chorus had one line that was different from the first repetition of the chorus.