Between 1763 and 1794 Thomas Warren published, through differing publishers, an annual collection of catches, canons and glees, under the aegis of the Catch Club. This item was published in the thirtieth such collection.

Lyrics: Edmund Waller

The lark, that shuns on lofty boughs to yield
Her humble nest, lies silent in the field:
But if the promise of a cloudless day,
Aurora smiling bids her rise and play:
The straight she shews 'twas not for want of voice,
Or pow'r to climb, she made so low a choice:
Singing she mounts, her airy wings are stretched
T'wards Heav'n, as if from Heav'n her notes she fetched.