from Act I, Scene 2 of the English opera The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky

Libretto: W.H. Auden

Role: Tom Rakewell, a young man in love with Anne

Voice Part: tenor       Fach: lyric tenor

Setting: Mother Goose's brothel, London, England, 18th century

Synopsis: Nick Shadow has brought Tom to the brothel to "initiate" him into manhood. Nick has convinced Tom to follow his baser instincts and, when Nick asks him what he thinks of love, Tom recoils in horror. Encouraged by Nick, Tom sings to the whores in Mother Goose's brothel that he views love as a fickle, but also very influential, thing.