White as lilies was her face

Song Meaning

The lyrics open with a striking image of beauty, "White as lilies was her face," immediately undercut by a sense of betrayal. This isn't a gentle love song; it's a lament. The speaker feels deeply wronged, accusing the beloved of abandoning faith with "foul disgrace." Her smile, once captivating, now seems a deceptive lure. The central tension here is the speaker's unwavering devotion clashing with the beloved's cold disregard. Despite his declarations of "vows and oaths," she remains indifferent to his suffering. This creates a profound sense of unreciprocated effort, leaving the speaker feeling "overthrown" and utterly forlorn. His heart, though "set at naught," refuses to yield its conviction. The archaic language, like "beguilèd" and "hath infected," lends a timeless, almost theatrical weight to the speaker's anguish. What starts as a personal grievance against "her" subtly expands. By the final stanza, the speaker generalizes, lamenting "that Love should have the art" to deceive. This shift from individual blame to a broader condemnation of "wanton-looking women" reveals a deep, cynical disillusionment. These lyrics hit hard because they capture the raw, stubborn ache of unrequited love mixed with bitter resentment. The speaker's defiant refusal to "change my thought" even as he grieves that such beauty was ever born, paints a vivid picture of a heart trapped between loyalty and despair. It's a powerful portrayal of how profound emotional pain can warp perception, turning an object of affection into a source of universal scorn.