"Soft Flowing Avon" is a 1769

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

with music written by

Thomas Arne Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song " A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', w ...

and lyrics by

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

. It was composed for and first staged at the Shakespeare Jubilee in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

in 1769. The lyrics refer to the River Avon which flows through the town, the birthplace of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. The piece was later part of the Shakespeare Pageant performed at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

. The song and the Jubilee were part of the growing culture of

Bardolatry Bardolatry is excessive admiration of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare has been known as "the Bard" since the eighteenth century. One who idolizes Shakespeare is known as a bardolator. The term ''bardolatry'', derived from Shakespeare's sobrique ...

which sprang up in the eighteenth century.

References

* Shaughnessy, Robert (ed.). ''The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture''. Cambridge University Press, 2007. 18th-century songs 1769 songs Compositions by Thomas Arne William Shakespeare {{song-stub