The Lyrics of Henry VIII/Hey nowe nowe, Kempe (Incipit)

Lyrics | Manuscript | Authors and Composers
The Lyrics of Henry VIII
Appendix 1: Lyrics by Occasion/Theme | Appendix 2: Textual/Musical Witnesses | Appendix 3: Bibliography

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[f.21^v]

Hey nowe nowe.

Textual Commentary

As in Farthing’s “Hey now now” (H 16), below, the words of this piece are given to a round but possibly with different lyrics (absent from the text of H) intended. There is little room left among the musical notation for additional text. In the list of contents for the manuscript, the title “hey now of Kempe” is given, though the latter two words appear in a script varying from the former.^[1] Stevens (MCH8 16), without stated explanation, gives the text presented below in italics, which is from Robbins (Secular Lyrics #141):

Merry a time I tell in May
When bright blossoms breaks on tree,
These fowles singes night and day
In ilke green is gamen and glee.

“Hey nowe nowe” appears to have been a common song burden (see, for example, Stevens M&P 47–48). See also Daggere’s “Downbery down” (H 16.5, and note).

“Hey nowe nowe” is indexed, as with Farthing’s piece, in Robbins Index & Suppl. 1214.6 and Ringler MS TM594. The piece is reprinted in Stevens M&P 390 and Stevens MCH8 16.

References

↑ This script is also used to correct the list’s exclusion of the work falling between its numbers 8 and 10, “perdon amoy.” Not actually a separate work, “perdon amoy” is the second stanza of Cornish’s “Adew mes amours et mon desyre” (H 6), the text of which is given below also.

[1] This script is also used to correct the list’s exclusion of the work falling between its numbers 8 and 10, “perdon amoy.” Not actually a separate work, “perdon amoy” is the second stanza of Cornish’s “Adew mes amours et mon desyre” (H 6), the text of which is given below also.

[1]