[SCA-Dance] Lightly Love - A suggestion

[Greg Lindahl]

On Sat, Jun 18, 2011 at 12:26:12PM -0700, Niki wrote:

> For those of you not aleady aware, there is a 'new' dance called Lightly Love 
> (from the Lovelace source)

By the way, the words for this song are similar to Greensleeves, in
that a man is complaining that women are not serious about love. Sounds
like the dance has some great fun in it.

-- Gregory

A Collection of Seventy-Nine Black-letter Ballads and Broadsides (1559-1597)
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ballads/lilly.html#l4

A very proper Dittie:
To the tune of Lightie Loue.

Leaue lightie loue, Ladies, for feare of yll name,
And true loue embrace ye, to purchace your Fame.

By force I am fixed my fancie to write,
Ingratitude willeth mee not to refraine:
Then blame me not, Ladies, although I indite
What lighty loue now amongst you doth raigne.
Your traces in places, without outward allurements,
Doth mooue my endeauour to be the more playne:
Your nicyngs and ticings, with sundrie procurementes,
To publish your lightie loue doth mee constrayne.

Deceite is not daintie, it coms at eche dish,
Fraude goes a fishyng with frendly lookes;
Throughe friendship is spoyled the seely poore fish,
That hoouer and shouer vpon your false hookes;
With baight you lay waight, to catch here and there,
Whiche causeth poore fishes their freedome to lose:
Then loute ye and floute ye, wherby doth appere
Your lighty loue, Ladies, styll cloaked with glose.

With DIAN so chaste you seeme to compare,
When HELLENS you bee, and hang on her trayne:
Mee thinkes faithfull Thisbies be now very rare,
Not one CLEOPATRA, I doubt, doth remayne;
You wincke and you twincke, tyll Cupid haue caught,
And forceth through flames your louers to sue:
Your lyghtie loue, Ladies, too deere they haue bought,
When nothyng wyll mooue you their causes to rue.

I speake not for spite, ne do i disdayne
Your beautie, fayre ladies, in any respect:
But ones ingratitude doth mee constrayne,
As childe hurt with fire, the same to neglect;
For proouing in louyng, I finde by good triall,
When beautie had brought mee vnto her becke,
She staying, not waying, but made a deniall,
And, shewyng her lightie loue, gaue mee the checke.

Thus fraude for frendship did lodge in her brest;
Suche are most women, that, when they espie
Their louers inflamed with sorowes opprest,
They stande then with Cupid against their replie;
They taunte, and they vaunte; they smile when they vew
How Cupid had caught them vnder his trayne;
But warned, discerned the proofe is most true
That lightie loue, Ladies, amongst you doth reigne.

It seemes, by your doynges, that Cressed doth scoole ye, --
Penelopeys vertues are cleane out of thought:
Mee thinkes, by your constantnesse, Heleyne doth rule ye,
Which both Greece and Troy to ruyne hath brought.
No doubt, to tell out your manyfolde driftes,
Would shew you as constant as is the sea sande:
To trust so vniust, that all is but shieftes,
With lightie loue bearyng your louers in hande

If ARGVS were lyuyng, whose eyes were in nomber
The peacockes plume painted, as writers replie,
Yet women by wiles full sore would him cumber,
For all his quicke eyes, their driftes to espie;
Suche feates, with disceates, they dayly frequent,
To conquere mennes mindes, their humours to feede,
That boldly I may geue arbittrement,
Of this your lightie loue, ladies, indeede.

Yet men that are subiect to Cupid his strooke,
And therin seemeth to haue your delight,
Thinke, when you see baight, theres hidden a hooke,
Whiche sure wyll bane you, if that you do bight:
Suche wiles and suche guiles by women are wrought,
That halfe their mischefes men cannot preuent;
When they are most pleasant vnto your thought,
Then nothyng but lightie loue is their intent.

Consider that poyson doth lurke oftentyme
In shape of sugre, to put some to payne,
And fayre wordes paynted, as dames can define,
The old prouerbe saith, doth make some fooles faine!
Be wise and precise, take warning by mee;
Trust not the crocodile, least you do rue;
To womens faire wordes do neuer agree,
For all is but lightie loue, this is most true.

ANEXES so daintie example may bee,
Whose lightie loue caused yong IPHIS his woe;
His true loue was tryed by death, as you see,
Her lightie loue forced the knight therunto;
For shame then refrayne, you ladies, therfore,
The cloudes they doo vanish, and light doth appeare;
You cannot dissemble, nor hide it no more,
Your loue is but lightie loue, this is most cleare.

For Troylus tried the same ouer well,
In louyng his ladie, as Fame doth reporte;
And likewise Menander, as stories doth tell,
Who swam the salt seas to his loue to resorte,
So true, that I rue such louers should lose
Their labour in seekyng their ladies vnkinde,
Whose loue thei did prooue, as the prouerbe now goes, --
Euen very lightie loue lodgde in their minde.

I touche no suche ladies as true loue imbrace,
But suche as to lightie loue dayly applie;
And none wyll be grieued, in this kinde of case,
Saue suche as are minded true loue to denie;
Yet frendly and kindly I shew you my minde;
Fayre ladies, I wish you to vse it no more;
But say what you list, thus I haue definde,
That lightie loue, ladies, you ought to abhore.

To trust womens wordes in any respect
The danger by mee right well it is seene,
And loue and his lawes who would not neglect,
The tryall wherof most peryllous beene?
Pretendyng the endyng if I haue offended,
I craue of you, ladies, an answere againe;
Amende, and whats said shall soone be amended,
If case that your lightie loue no longer do rayne.

Finis. By Leonarde Gybson.

Imprinted at London, in the vpper end of
the Fleetlane, by Richard Jhones; and are to be
solde at his shope, ioyning to the South-weste
Dore of Saint Paules church.

(dated to 1570 by a stationer's register entry)