The Lyrics of Henry VIII/Alac alac what shall I do, Henry VIII

[f. 35v]

The Kyng H. viij.

Commentary
“Alac alac what shall I do” is likely three lines of a longer love song, perhaps that of “Hey nony nony nony nony no” (H 26). “Alac alac what shall I do” presents the lament of a devout lover unsure of his lady, as does “Hey nony,” where this concern sees a much fuller development and, ultimately, a positive conclusion.

H presents “Alac alac what shall I do” in three voices, complete and presented on the verso only. Ringler MS suggests that the text is probably incomplete (51), and the peculiar layout in H suggests that this song and that which follows it, “Hey nony nony nony nony no” (H 26), are quite closely related (see Stevens MCH8, #30, note). “Hey nony nony nony nony no” is unattributed, and its original numbering in the MS (“xxvij”) corresponds with the heading “28. Alac alac what shall I do” in the table of contents (f. 2v). Also, the text on f. 36r lacks any sort of block initial capital which is used to offset voices and lyrics from one another, and the matter of each song is complementary. The incipit “Alasse a lasse what shall I doo” is listed as part of the contents of DBla (f. 59r), which contains many songs of a similar nature, including a great many pieces by Wyatt. This piece, however, does not survive in the manuscript outside of this mention.

“Alas alas what shall I do” is indexed in Robbins Index & Suppl. 135.5, Boffey, Ringler MS TM88, Crum A843. It is reprinted in Flügel Anglia 236, Stevens M&P 396, Stevens MCH8 26, and Trefusis 72.

Texts Collated
H1,2,3 (f. 35v).
 * 3   lokked] lokked H2,3, lakked H1