Poem VIII (It was a lover and his…)

It was a lover and his lass With a hey and a ho, and a hey-nonino! That o’er the green cornfield 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 crownéd with the prime In spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing hey ding a ding: Sweet lovers love the Spring. W. Shakespeare