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BIRKS OF ENVERMAY
How oft Louisa hast thou said,
Nor wilt thou the fond boast disown,
Thou would'st not lose Antonio's love
To reign the partner of a throne!
And by those lips which spoke so kind!
And by this hand I press'd to mine!
To be the lord of wealth and pow'r,
I swear I would not part with thine.
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Then how, my dear, can we be poor,
Who own what kingdoms could not buy!
Of this true heart thou shalt be Queen,
And serving thee -- a monarch I.
Thus uncontroul'd in mutual bliss
And rich in love's exhaustless mine,
Do thou snatch treasures from my lips
And I'll take kingdoms back from thine.
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BIRKS OF ENVERMAY
From the comic opera The Duenna by Sheridan, sung by Octavia in Act III, Scene III, uses the melody of an earlier Scottish song 'The Birks of Invermay (or Endermay)', of
uncertain origin.
Musical settings for the opera were composed by Thomas Linley Snr and his son Thomas Linley Jnr and also by William Shield; all celebrated composers
of the time.
The opera was first performed at Covent Garden in 1775.
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Mozart transcription by Mary Van Deusen, Corrections by Mary Jane Corry
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