Ah! what shall I say!

Verse 1
Ah! what shall I say!
That a Virgin so gay,
Without either malice or art
(Tho’ no evil she means
Hardly yet in her Teens)
She has robb’d Poet Sam of his heart!

Verse 2
Harrietta is She!
And what harm could there be
To gaze on a Maiden so young?
But how great my Surprize!
When escap’d from her eyes,
I was caught by her mischievous tongue.

Verse 3
Stop the innocent Thief,
For a Lover’s relief!
Or if proud of her victory won,
She refuses to part
With my musical heart,
Let her give me a share of her own.

Verse 4
A share did I say?
Nay, I honestly may
Her whole heart and affections demand:
And if Justice He loves,
And if Truth he approves,
The good Doctor will give me her hand.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “The Lover’s Complaint.” This hymn appears in the manuscript “MS Nursery.” This manuscript is part of the collection of the Methodist Archive and Research Centre in The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester (accession number MA 1977/594/16, Charles Wesley Notebooks Box 5). Accessed through the website of The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School. Published in S.T. Kimbrough Jr. and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, vol. 1 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1988), pages 284-85.
Publishing: Public Domain