Chilcot's "Twelve English songs", 1744, a collection of fully accompanied concert songs, was one of the earliest collections of its kind, and also one of the most successful. The subscription list included both composers (amongst them, Avison, Boyce and Handel) and patrons amongst the Ton of London and Bath, where Chilcot was organist at the Abbey. The songs were probably intended for public performance, at the Pump Room or various Assembly Rooms in Bath, or at pleasure gardens in Bath or London. The vocal line in the original print employs the standard "unisex" treble clef. I have allocated songs to Tenor or Soprano depending upon subject matter, but any song may be taken by either voice, with the exception of "Come thou monarch of the vine", for which Chilcot specified a Bass/Baritone (Tenor in this edition). Each song is available with full orchestral parts. Versions are also available with condensed orchestral parts in the keyboard, enabling performance in reduced musical circumstances.

Lyrics: Christopher Marlowe

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasure prove,
That hills and valleys, dale and field
And all the craggy mountains yield.
There will we sit upon the rocks
And see the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There will I make thee beds of roses
With a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers and a girdle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle,
A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull
Fur-lined slippers for the cold
With buckles of the purest gold,

A belt of straw and ivy buds
With coral clasps and amber studs
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Then live with me and be my love.
The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning.
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.