Hunting and drinking - Hook, James

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"Written for performance at Vauxhall; Charles Taylor was the first singer."

⌛ Period → Classical ◈ Genre → Arias ♬ Voicing → solo low ¶ Language → English

Parts 1

Instruments Mixed ensemble

Pages 8

CPDL # 76019

Editor Christopher Shaw

Posted 2023-10-04

License Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike

¶Lyrics / Text

Let philosophers boast of their wisdom profound, And statesmen on kingdoms debate, Let fashion's gay vot'ries pursue Folly's round, And pedants on gravity prate: But far wiser the man who, quite free from vain strife, Ne'er loses his time in dry thinking, But in jovial contentment devotes his whole life To the pleasure of hunting and drinking. Wine ennobles the mind and subdues ev'ry care, While the chase ruddy vigour supplies: Thus good liquor, assisted by sweet wholesome air, Each sorrow, each sickness defies. Then come, joyous hearts, push about the brisk bowl, And ne'er from your glass be caught shrinking; For of all the delights that enrapture the soul, Sure, none are like hunting and drinking. When the mellow-tongu'd hound, and the huntsman's shrill horn, To the field's glorious pastimes invite, Like sons of great Nimrod, we enjoy the fresh morn, And like sons of gay Bacchus the night. Then hark forward, brave fellows, and nobly disdain E'er under dull gloom to be sinking; But banish rude sorrow, forget ev'ry pain, In the transports of hunting and drinking.