Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Semper Dowland semper dolens is what it reveals about the pronunciation of John Dowland's name. In the twentieth century, which witnessed a resurgence of interest in Dowland's music, people pronounced the first syllable of his surname to rhyme with "now." Unfortunately, the cleverness and meaning of the title, Semper Dowland semper dolens, is lost with this pronunciation. Dowland and others often wrote his name as "Doland," "Dolandi" or "Dolande." Thus, Dowland's contemporaries must have pronounced his name as a modern person would pronounce "Poland." This makes the parallel between "Dowland" and "dolens" more sensible and contributes to the irony of the title, "Semper Dowland semper dolens" (Always Dowland always suffering).

John Dowland's Lachrimæ or Seven Teares, published in 1604 in London, consists of arrangements for five viols and lute of earlier works, as well as six new pavans. The eighth piece in the volume is an arrangement of Semper Dowland semper dolens. The solo lute version of Semper Dowland semper dolens appeared in Varietie of Lute-Lessons, printed in 1610 for Thomas Adams, and with a treatise on performance by Dowland. The volume was edited by Robert Dowland (1591 - 1641), John Dowland's son, who also contributed two songs to the book.

Both the solo and consort versions end ambiguously with a plagal cadence—G minor to D major—after a strong cadence on G minor. As the title might suggest, melancholy is the dominant mood of the piece, developed musically in the constant, falling four-note figures in the upper and lower voices of the third strain. The lute part in the solo version is very different from that of the consort version, with numerous differences in the melodic material. The end of the piece provides a good example of these differences: While both close with the same cadence, the bass line in the solo version is very active, contains most of the chromatic alterations, and is joined in its rapid declamation by the upper two voices with repeated notes, all leading to a sustained final chord of D major. The consort version, however, pushes to its close with block chords and ends with a quick, neighbor-note motion in the uppermost viol and lute voice after resolving a suspension, making it even less conclusive than in the solo lute version.



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