1 Meaning
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes Lyrics
Drink to me only with thine eyes
And I will pledge with mine
Or leave a kiss within the cup
And I'll not ask for wine
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine
But might I of Jove's nectar sip
I would not change for thine
I sent thee late a rosy wreath
Not so much honoring thee
As giving it a hope that there
It could not withered be
But thou thereon did only breathe
And sent it back to me
Since when it grows and smells, I swear
Not of itself, but thee
And I will pledge with mine
Or leave a kiss within the cup
And I'll not ask for wine
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine
But might I of Jove's nectar sip
I would not change for thine
Not so much honoring thee
As giving it a hope that there
It could not withered be
But thou thereon did only breathe
And sent it back to me
Since when it grows and smells, I swear
Not of itself, but thee
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
These lyrics are from "To Celia" by English poet Ben Jonson.
Throughout the poem, the speaker prefers something that is almost nothing from the object of his affection over something that is great.
A kiss left in a cup is better than wine. He'd rather drink her nectar than that of the greatest of the gods. The smell of a single one of her breaths is more portent than a wreath of roses.