"Pastime with Good Company", also known as "The King's Ballad" ("The Kynges Balade"), is an English folk song written by King Henry VIII in the beginning of the 16th century, shortly after his coronation. It is regarded as the most famous of his compositions, and it became a popular song in England and other European countries during the Renaissance. It is thought to be written for Catherine of Aragon."
Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was king of England from 21 April 1509 until his death.
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Henry cultivated the image of a Renaissance man, and his court was a centre of scholarly and artistic innovation and glamorous excess, epitomised by the Field of the Cloth of Gold. He scouted the country for choirboys, taking some directly from Wolsey's choir, and introduced Renaissance music into court. Musicians included Benedict de Opitiis, Richard Sampson, Ambrose Lupo, and Venetian organist Dionisio Memo. Henry himself kept a considerable collection of instruments; he was skilled on the lute, could play the organ, and was a talented player of the virginals.[146] He could also sight read music and sing well.[146] He was an accomplished musician, author, and poet; his best known piece of music is "Pastime with Good Company" ("The Kynges Ballade"). He is often reputed to have written "Greensleeves" but probably did not. He was an avid gambler and dice player, and excelled at sports, especially jousting, hunting, and real tennis. He was known for his strong defence of conventional Christian piety. The King was involved in the original construction and improvement of several significant buildings, including Nonsuch Palace, King's College Chapel, Cambridge and Westminster Abbey in London. Many of the existing buildings Henry improved were properties confiscated from Wolsey, such as Christ Church, Oxford; Hampton Court Palace; the Palace of Whitehall; and Trinity College, Cambridge.
Henry was an intellectual. The first English king with a modern humanist education, he read and wrote English, French, Latin and was thoroughly at home in his well-stocked library. He personally annotated many books and wrote and published one of his own.
Lyrics:
Pastime with good company
I love and shall until I die
grudge who lust but none deny
so God be pleased thus live will I
for my pastance
hunt sing and dance
my heart is set
all goodly sport
for my comfort
who shall me let
youth must have some dalliance
of good or ill some pastance
Company methinks then best
all thoughts and fancies to digest.
for Idleness
is chief mistress
of vices all
then who can say.
but mirth and play
is best of all.
Company with honesty
is virtue vices to flee.
Company is good and ill
but every man hath his free will.
the best ensue
the worst eschew
my mind shall be.
virtue to use
vice to refuse
thus shall I use me.
Elisabeth Pawelke sings Pastime with Good Company (with Fiona). Source: YouTube Channel Gottfried Leibniz. Date Published: January 31, 2013.
