The Lyrics of Henry VIII/The thowghtes within my brest, Farthing

[ff. 29^v-30^r]

The thowghtes within my brest.
They greue me passyng sore
That I can not be prest
to serue you euer more.

Textual Commentary

“The thowghtes within my brest” is a lyric of departure, with emphasis on the lover’s regret at not being able to offer service to his beloved any longer. The text of the first stanza echoes another lyric of departure—that of Cornish’s “A the syghes that cum fro my hart” (H 22) in H—though Cornish’s lyric is of a different emphasis.

2 They greue me passyng sore Cf. repetition in Cornish’s “A the syghes that cum fro my hart” (H 22), as well as sore’s rhyme, “euer more” (l. 4).

3 prest Ready in mind, disposition, or will (OED a 2); cf. “Whilles lyue or breth is in my brest” (H 43.26).

“The thowghtes within my brest” is through-set for three voices, although Stevens suggests that there might be verses missing (M&P 392). While this lyric has been mistakenly attributed in the past to Henry VIII, the scribal ascription clearly reads “T. ffardyng” (f. 30^r).

This lyric is indexed in Robbins Index & Suppl. 3486.5, Boffey, and Ringler MS TM1599. It is reprinted in Flügel Anglia 233, Stevens M&P 392, and Stevens MCH8 22.

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

H^1,2,3 (ff. 29^v–30^r).

4 serue] ser H¹