1 Music to hear, why hear’st thou music sadly?
You who are beautiful as music, why do you hear music sadly? Music itself—why do you listen to it sadly? why do you listen sadly
2 Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy:
Beautiful things don't war with beautiful things; joy delights in joy, Sweet things work together, not against each other; happiness loves happiness, good things match with good things
3 Why lov’st thou that which thou receiv’st not gladly,
Why do you love what you don't receive gladly, Why do you claim to love something you enjoy unhappily, why love something that hurts
4 Or else receiv’st with pleasure thine annoy?
Or receive your own misery as pleasure? or enjoy your own sadness? or take pleasure in pain
5 If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,
If true harmony of well-tuned sounds If real harmony from well-tuned notes if harmony bothers you
6 By unions married do offend thine ear,
United in marriage offends your ear, married together upsets you, when things work together
7 They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
They only sweetly chide you, who confuse they're gently scolding you—you're the one who's confused, they're just scolding you
8 In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear:
In singleness the parts you should create. thinking one voice is enough when you should be creating harmony. staying single when you should create harmony
Volta Shifts from describing musical harmony to applying it morally: singleness produces 'none,' while family is 'one pleasing note.'
9 Mark how one string sweet husband to another,
Notice how one string acts as sweet husband to another, Look at how one note marries another beautifully, one note marries another
10 Strikes each in each by mutual ordering;
Each strikes the other through mutual arrangement, each resonates with the other through balanced order, each perfect with each
11 Resembling sire, and child, and happy mother,
Resembling father, child, and happy mother, like father, child, and joyful mother, like a whole family
12 Who all in one, one pleasing note do sing:
Who together create one beautiful chord. creating one perfect harmony. singing one perfect song
13 Whose speechless song being many, seeming one,
Whose wordless song, though many voices, seems one, This silent song—many parts but unified— many voices, one song
14 Sings this to thee, ‘Thou single wilt prove none’.
Sings to you: 'Single, you will prove nothing.' sings to you: 'Alone, you become nobody.' alone you're nobody