Crabbed age and youth (Richard John Samuel Stevens)

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• (Posted 2021-09-13)  CPDL #65757: 

Editor: Christopher Shaw (submitted 2021-09-13).   Score information: A4, 5 pages, 231 kB   Copyright: CC BY SA

Edition notes: Includes a keyboard reduction of the a cappella choral score. Please click on the link for preview/playback/PDF download.

General Information

Title: Crabbed age and youth
Composer: Richard John Samuel Stevens
Lyricist: William Shakespeare(attrib.)
Number of voices: 4vv   Voicing: ATTB
Genre: Secular, Glee

Language: English
Instruments: A cappella

First published: 1790
Description: Stevens composed this glee in 1790 and submitted it (unsuccessfully) for the Catch Club prize medals for that year. The attribution of the lyrics to Shakespeare is contested almost as often as it is made.

Original text and translations

English text

Crabbed age and youth cannot live together;
Youth is full of pleasure, age is full of care.
Youth like summer morn, age like winter bare,
Age, I abhor thee, youth I adore thee,
O my love is young;
Age, I do defy thee, O sweet shepherd hie thee,
For methinks thou stayest too long.