My bonny lass she smileth

My bonny lass she smileth is a famous English ballett, written by Thomas Morley and published in 1595 in his First Book of Balletts to Five Voices. A ballett was the English form of the Italian balletto, a light, homophonic, strophic song for three or more singers, distinguished by dance-like rhythms and "fa-la-la" refrains. It is based on an Italian madrigal, published by Gastoldi in 1591 (see ref 1 and supporting recording). The ChoralWiki gives the following words for the two opening verses.


 * My bonny lass she smileth,
 * when she my heart beguileth.
 * Fa la la la...
 * Smile less, dear love, therefore,
 * and you shall love me more.
 * Fa la la la...

The song was parodied by Peter Schickele (https://www.schickele.com/composition/twomadrigals.htm) (writing as P.D.Q. Bach) as:
 * My bonny lass she smelleth
 * Making the flowers jealouth.
 * Fa la la la...

The ballett is of form AABB and is in mode 7, the Mixolydian.