The ousel cock, so black of hue, With orange-tawny bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill. The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, The plain-song cuckoo grey, Whose note full many a man doth mark, And dares not answer nay.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: used in Matthew King's A Song of Byrds.Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scene 1: Bottom's song [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845) ; composed by Hugo Wolf.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-04-10
Line count: 8
Word count: 46
Die Schwalbe, die den Sommer bringt, der Spatz, der Zeisig fein, Die Lerche, die sich lustig schwingt bis in den Himmel 'nein. Der Kukuck, der der Grasmück' so gern ins Nestchen heckt, Und lacht darob mit arger Tück', und manchen Ehemann neckt.
Authorship:
- by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scene 1: Bottom's song
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Lied des transferierten Zettel", 1889, from Vier Gedichte nach Heine, Shakespeare und Lord Byron (1888-1896), no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Cançó de la butlleta transferida", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Canzone del foglietto smarrito", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-22
Line count: 8
Word count: 42