Song of Songs by Ryan Malone LYRICS

Song of Songs By Ryan Malone LYRICS

PART ONE Where You feed Your flock— Where it rests at noon. 1. Let Him Kiss Me (Song 1:2-3) For why should I turn aside Chorus By Your companions’ flocks? Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Baritone Soprano If you do not know, O fairest of women, For Your love is better than wine; Follow the footprints of the flock, Your anointing oils are fragrant; And graze your goats Your name is oil poured out; by the shepherds’ tents. Therefore the virgins love You. I have compared you, O my love, 2. Let Us Run (Song 1:4) to a mare in Pharaoh’s chariots. Soprano Your cheeks adorned with beads, Draw me after You; let us run! Your neck with strings of pearls. We will make you beads of gold Chorus with silver studs. The king has brought me into his chambers. 5. The King at His Table (Song 1:12-14) Soprano Chorus We will be glad and rejoice in You. While the king sits at his table, We will remember Your love more than wine. My spikenard yields its scent. For the upright do love You. My beloved is a pouch of myrrh That lies all night between my breasts. Chorus My beloved is a henna branch Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Among Engedi’s vines.

3. I Am Black Yet Lovely (Song 1:5-6) 6. Behold, You Are Beautiful (Song 1:15-17) Chorus Baritone I am black yet lovely, Behold, you are beautiful, my love. O daughters of Jerusalem. Behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves. I am black yet lovely, Like the tents of Kedar, Soprano Like the drapes of Solomon. Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved: Truly pleasant. Stare not at my darkness; The sun has scorched my skin! Baritone/Soprano My mother’s sons have burned me. Our bed has grown luxuriant. They made me keep the vineyard, Our dwelling’s beams are cedar But my own have I not kept. Our rafters made of cypress.

4. Follow the Footprints of the Flock 7. As the Lily (Song 2:1-5) (Song 1:7-11) Chorus Soprano I am the rose of the plain, the lily of the valley. Tell me, O You whom my soul loves, Baritone For your voice is sweet, As the lily among the thorns And your face is beautiful. So is my love among the daughters. Baritone Chorus Catch us the foxes, As the apple tree among the forest The little foxes that spoil the vine; So is my beloved among the sons. For our vineyards are in blossom. With great delight, I sat in his shade, His fruit was sweet in my mouth. 12. My Beloved Is Mine (Song 2:16-17) He brought me into His house of wine, Chorus and covered me with His love. My Beloved is mine, and I am His; He feeds among the lilies. Sustain me with raisins, Support me with apples: Until the breath of day, For I am sick of love. When shadows flee away. Turn, my Beloved, 8. Awake Not Love (Song 2:6-7) And be like a gazelle or a young hart: Chorus On the divided mountains. His left hand is under my head, His right embraces me. 13. I Sought Him (Song 3:1-4) I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, Chorus by the gazelles and does of the field, Each night upon my bed That you do not stir nor awaken love, I sought Him whom I love. until He please. I sought, but did not find Him.

9. The Voice of My Beloved! (Song 2:8-10) I will arise and roam Chorus The city streets and squares. The voice of my Beloved! And seek Him whom I love Behold, He comes, I sought, but did not find Him. leaping on the mountains, springing on the hills. The watchmen roam the city; My Beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart: They found me, and I asked: Have you seen Him whom I love? Behold, He stands behind our wall, Gazing through the windows, Just moments after passing them, Glancing through the lattice. I found Him whom I love. I grasped and would not release Him, My Beloved spoke, and said to me: Till I had brought Him to my mother’s house. To the room of her who bore me. 10. Arise, My Love (Song 2:10-13) Baritone and Male Chorus 14. Awake Not Love—Reprise (Song 3:5-6) Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Chorus For, lo, the winter is past, I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, The rain is over and gone. by the gazelles and does of the field, The flowers appear on the earth, That you do not stir nor awaken love, The time of singing is come. until He please. The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land The fig tree puts forth her figs, Female Duet And the vines their blossom and fragrance. Who comes from the plains Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Like pillars of smoke, offering myrrh and frankincense 11. O My Dove (Song 2:14-15) all powders of the merchant? Baritone and Male Chorus O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, 15. Behold King Solomon (Song 3:7-11) In the hiding places of the cliffs, Tenor Let me see your face, Behold the bed of Solomon: Let me hear your voice; Sixty heroes round it,

2 Valiant men of Israel. From the leopards’ mountains. Skilled in war, they all hold swords Each man’s sword is girded 18. My Sister, My Bride (Songs 4:9-5:1) For the fears of night. Baritone You have ravished my heart, King Solomon made for himself my sister, my bride, a carriage of Lebanon’s wood You have ravished my heart With pillars of silver, a golden support, with one look of your eyes, A cushion of purple, and inlaid with love with one chain of your neck. By the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O daughters of Zion. How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride Tenor and Female Duet Much sweeter, your love, Behold King Solomon wearing the crown than the sweetest wine. with which his mother crowned him And the scent of your oils on his wedding day, more than any perfume. The day of his heart’s delight. Your lips, O my bride, drop as the honeycomb 16. All Fair You Are (Song 4:1-7) Honey and milk are under your tongue. Baritone And the scent of your garments Behold, you are beautiful, my love. is the scent of Lebanon Behold, you are beautiful. A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride Your eyes are like doves A spring that is locked and a fountain secur Behind your veil. Your hair a flock of goats, Chorus Streaming down Mount Gilead. Pomegranates, henna with spikenard, spikenard and saffron, sugar cane, cinnamon, Your teeth a shorn and fruitful flock, With all trees of frankincense, Ascending from the wash. myrrh and aloes Your lips are like a scarlet thread, Where lovely speech resides. Your plants are an orchard with the choicest of fruits, Your cheeks are pomegranate halves with the chiefest of spices. Behind your veil. Your neck like David’s tower, Soprano Decked with a thousand shields— Awake, O north wind, come south! All shields of mighty men. Blow upon my garden, That the spices may flow out. Your breasts are twin gazelles, Which graze in lily fields. Chorus Let my Beloved come into His garden, Until the breath of day, And eat the pleasant fruits that are His! When shadows flee away; I go to the mountain of myrrh, Baritone And the hill of incense pure. I am come to my garden, my sister, my bride. All fair you are, my love; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; There is no spot in you. To partake of my honey in the comb, to drink of my wine with my milk. 17. Come With Me From Lebanon (Song 4:8) Baritone Chorus Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; Eat, O friends, Come with me from Lebanon. Drink your fill of love! Look from the source of the mountain stream, From the peak of snow-capped refuge. END PART ONE From the lions’ dwellings,

3 PART TWO His wavy locks are raven black. His eyes are doves by riverbeds, 19. My Beloved Knocks (Song 5:2-6) Bathed with milk by brimming pools Chorus His cheeks are spice beds with fragrant towers, I sleep, but my heart is awake; His lips like lilies dropping myrrh Hark! The voice of my Beloved who knocks: His hands are gold rings filled with gems.

Baritone His loins are like smoothed ivory Open to me overlaid with sapphire gems. My sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled. His legs like marble pillars are For my head is filled with dew, standing on a pure gold base. My locks with the drops of the night. His face as Lebanon’s chosen trees, His mouth is pleasant to the taste Chorus All of Him is to be desired. I had put off my garment; how could I put it on? I had washed my feet; how could I soil them? This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. My Beloved put his hand in the hole of my door My passions stirred for Him. 23. Where Is Your Beloved? (Song 6:1-3) I arose to open to Him, Female Duet My hands dropped with myrrh Where has your Beloved gone, Running over my fingers O fairest of women? On the handles of the lock. Where has your Beloved turned— I opened to my Beloved, That we may seek Him with you? But my Beloved had turned and gone. My soul sank at His flight. Chorus I sought but could not find Him. My Beloved has descended I called—He gave no answer. Into His garden’s spice beds; To feed His flock and gather lilies there. 20. The Watchmen Smote Me (Song 5:7-8) Chorus I am my Beloved’s The watchmen roamed the city streets; And my Beloved is mine: They smote and wounded me: Who feeds His flock among the lilies there. The keepers of the city walls Removed my cloak from me. 24. She Is the Only One (Song 6:4-9) Baritone I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, You are beautiful, O my love, If you find my Beloved, As a pleasant kingdom, Tell Him I am sick of love. Lovely as Jerusalem, As an awesome bannered host. 21. What Is Your Beloved More Than Another? (Song 5:9) Avert your eyes from me, Female Duet for they drive me wild. What is your Beloved more than another, Your hair is like a flock of goats O fairest of women? Streaming down Mount Gilead What is your Beloved more than another, That you so charge us? Your teeth a shorn and fruitful flock Ascending from the wash 22. The Chief Among Ten Thousand Your cheeks are pomegranate halves (Song 5:10-16) Behind your veil Chorus My Beloved There may be sixty queens, is glowing bright And eighty concubines, with rosy cheeks, And countless virgin girls, He is the chief among ten thousand! But my dove, my undefiled, is the only one. The darling of her mother. His head is like the finest gold, Pure to her who conceived her.

4 The daughters saw her and blessed her, Your kisses like the finest wine The queens and concubines praised her: (Chorus) flowing smoothly for my Beloved, (Chorus/Bari.) over the lips of those who sleep. Female Duet Who is this looking toward the dawn? Chorus Fair as the moon, I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is for me. Pure as the sun, An awesome bannered host. 27. There Will I Give You My Love (Song 7:10-8:2) 25. Return, Return (Song 6:10-13) Soprano (and treble chorus) Baritone Come, my Beloved, I descended to the walnut grove Let us go into the field; to see the valley’s fruits, Let us lodge in the villages. to see if vines had blossomed Let us go early to the vineyards if pomegranates budded. To see if the vine has blossomed, Before I was aware, if tender grapes appear, My desire set me among if pomegranates bud: the chariots of my royal nation. There will I give You my love. The mandrakes give their scent; Return, return, O Shulamite, Return, return! At our door are the rarest fruits, new and old, That we may look on you. which I have laid in store for You, What do you see in the Shulamite? O my Beloved. The dance of two conflicting armies. O that You were as my brother, 26. How Fair and Pleasant (Song 7:1-9) who nursed at the bosom of my mother! Baritone If I found You outside, How beautiful are your sandaled feet, I would kiss you for all to see, O royal daughter! And no one would despise me. Your rounded thighs are ornaments I would lead You to my mother’s house, Crafted by an artist’s hands. There You would instruct me: Your navel is a rounded bowl I would make You to drink spiced wine not lacking mingled wine. my pomegranate’s sweet drink. Your belly is a heap of wheat with lilies hedged about. 28. Awake Not Love—Final Reprise (Song 8:3-5) Your breasts are twin gazelles Chorus Which graze in lily fields. His left hand should be under my head, Your neck an ivory tower His right hand should embrace me. Your eyes like Heshbon’s pools, I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gate where many daughters trod: That you do not stir nor awaken love, until He please. Your nose is as Lebanon’s tower looking toward Damascus. Female Duet Your head is like Carmel, Who comes from the wilderness its hair a purple tapestry, leaning on her beloved? … In its curls are bound the king. 29. Under the Apple Tree (Song 8:5) How fair and pleasant you are, Baritone O love, O daughter of delights! I woke you under the apple tree: Where your mother brought you forth: Your stature is like the palm, Where she brought you forth Your breasts are like its clusters. who conceived you. I said, “I will climb the palm, 30. Set Me as a Seal (Song 8:6-7) and take hold of its boughs.” Chorus and Soprano Let your breasts be clusters of the vine, Set me as a seal upon Your heart, The scent of your breath like apples; as a seal upon Your arm:

5 For love is strong as death; passion fierce as the grave: Its sparks are flames of fire— the very flame of God.

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it: If a man would give all riches of his house for love, would he be despised?

31. Our Little Sister (Song 8:8-10) Chorus We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister On the day when she shall be spoken for?

If she be a wall, then we will build on her a silver fortress: If she be a door, then we will close her in with cedar boards. I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: Thus I found favor in His eyes.

32. Solomon’s Vineyard (Song 8:11-12) Tenor Solomon had a vineyard at Bah-ahl Hah-mon; he gave it to the keepers; Each one for its fruit would bring a thousand silver pieces.

Chorus My own vineyard is before me: You, O Solomon, have the thousand, and keepers of its fruit two hundred.

33. Make Haste, My Beloved (Song 8:13-14) Chorus and Soprano You who dwell in the gardens, Where your companions heed your voice: Cause me to hear it too!

Make haste, my beloved! And be like a gazelle or a young hart on the mountains of spices.