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by John Donne (1572 - 1631)
Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani
Go and catch a falling star
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot, Teach me to hear mermaids singing, Or to keep off envy's stinging, And find What wind Serves to advance an honest mind. If thou be'st born to strange sights, Things invisible to see, Ride ten thousand days and nights, Till age snow white hairs on thee, Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me, All strange wonders that befell thee, And swear, No where Lives a woman true and fair. If thou find'st one, let me know, Such a pilgrimage were sweet; Yet do not, I would not go, Though at next door we might meet, Though she were true, when you met her, And last, till you write your letter, Yet she Will be False, ere I come, to two, or three.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "Go and catch a falling star" [author's text not yet checked 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):
- by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Go and catch a falling star", published 1961 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Colin Brumby (b. 1933), "Go and catch a falling star", published 1979, from The English Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Vassall Cox (1916 - 1997), "Go and catch a falling star", 1959, published 1962 [ tenor and piano ], from The Humours of Love [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Flanagan (1923 - 1969), "Go and catch a falling star", published 1949 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philippe Hersant (b. 1948), "Falling star", 2005 [ vocal octet and viola da gamba ], Éditions Durand ; Hersant's catalog of works indicates the text of this setting is also based on a poem by Henry King [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lee Hoiby (1926 - 2011), "Go and catch a falling star" [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald Perera (b. 1941), "Go, and catch a falling star", 1961 [ medium voice and piano ], from Two Donne Songs, no. 1, Pear Tree Press Music Publishers distributed by Subito Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard George Stevens (1916 - 1983), "Go and catch a falling star", published 1948, from Three Songs: The Words by John Donne [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Va', e cattura una stella cadente", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-12-07
Line count: 27
Word count: 147
Va', e cattura una stella cadente
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English
Va', e cattura una stella cadente, Ingravida una radice di mandragola, Rivelami dove si trovano gli anni del passato, O chi il piede del diavolo ha spaccato, Insegnami a udire delle sirene il canto, O a evitare dell' invidia il tormento, E dimmi che hai trovato Quel vento Che può ad un animo onesto esser d'aiuto. Fossi tu nato per visioni strane, Di cose invisibili alla vista, A cavalcare per mille notti e giorni Finché la neve degli anni imbianchi la tua testa, Allora racconteresti al tuo ritorno, Di meraviglie e di bizzarre avventure, Ma giureresti Che non c'è casa Dove donna sia bella e pur virtuosa. Ne trovassi una sola, saperlo vorrei, In dolce pellegrinaggio mi recherei da lei; Ma forse, no, meglio rinunciare, Pure se abitasse accanto alla mia porta. Se ancor fosse sincera, quando tu l'hai scoperta, Mentre tu mi scrivessi per darmene notizia, Già lei, prima che io sia arrivato, la fiducia di due o di tre avrebbe tradito.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2005 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "Go and catch a falling star"
This text was added to the website: 2006-01-01
Line count: 27
Word count: 163