Neko Case edition - Blog

Transcript of Neko Case

"Magpie to the Morning" hot and fades out

Neko Case:"The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" by Sir Walter Raleigh

Of all the world and love were young,

And truth in every shepherd's tongue,

These pretty pleasures might me move

To live with thee and be thy love.

Time drives the flocks from field to fold,

When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;

And Philomel becometh dumb;

The rest complains of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields

To wayward winter reckoning yields:

A honey tongue, a heart of gall,

Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.

The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,

Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies

Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,-

In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

Thy belt of straw and ivy buds,

Thy coral clasps and amber studs,

All these in me no means can move

To come to thee and be thy love.

But could youth last and love still breed,

Had joys no date nor age no need,

Then these delights my mind might move

To live with thee and be thy love.

"Magpie to the Morning" hot and under commentary

Neko Case: "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" was the first poem I ever read and tried to memorize on my own. And I though it was so cool that the girl was saying she wasn't going to marry the shepherd because her was going to give her a lot of stuff. And then I found it super interesting later when I realized that it was a response to a Christopher Marlowe poem, which I had also read at the same time and I thought they were both by Sir Walter Raleigh. But I just thought it was so great that, however many years later, another guy kind of writes a poem that sticks up for the lady to the guy. I really love that.

Music credit: Instrumental excerpt of her original song, "Magpie to the Morning" from the album, Middle Cyclone, used courtesy of Anti-.