Cleare or Cloudie sweet as Aprill showring

John Dowland paints a vivid picture of a beloved's changeable moods, comparing them to the varied seasons from April showers to the dappled light of June. The text describes how her appearance can be clear or cloudy, smiling or frowning, yet always captivating. Her words are likened to the sweet song of a nightingale, though even that can be jarred by dissonant notes. He further explores the duality of her love, sometimes bright like summer days, at other times shadowed by doubt, like clouds and thunder in the sky. This secular SATTB madrigal, set in English, explores these complex emotions with the richness of Renaissance part-music, capturing the ephemeral nature of affection and beauty.