Sweetest love, I do not go

Sweetest love, I do not go,
    For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show
    A fitter love for me ;
        But since that I
[At the last must part, 'tis best,
Thus to use myself in jest
    By feigned]1 deaths to die.

Yesternight the sun went hence,
    And yet is here to-day ;
He hath no desire nor sense,
    Nor half so short a way ;
        Then fear not me,
But believe that I shall make
Speedier journeys, since I take
    More wings and spurs than he.

O how feeble is man's power,
    That if good fortune fall,
Cannot add another hour,
    Nor a lost hour recall ;
        But come bad chance,
And we join to it our strength,
And we teach it art and length,
    Itself o'er us to advance.

When thou sigh'st, thou sigh'st not wind,
    But sigh'st my soul away ;
When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,
    My life's blood doth decay.
        It cannot be
That thou [lovest]2 me as thou say'st,
If in thine my life thou waste,
    That art the best of me.

Let not thy divining heart
    Forethink me any ill ;
Destiny may take thy part,
    And may thy fears fulfil.
        But think that we
Are but turn'd aside to sleep.
They who one another keep
    Alive, ne'er parted be.

Translation(s): ITA

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Authorship

• by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "Song: Sweetest love, I do not go" [ author's text checked 1 time]

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 , "Sweetest love, I do not go", published 1961. [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Matthew Emery (b. 1991), "Sweetest love, I do not go", 2013, stanzas 1,4. [SATB chorus a cappella] [
   text verified 1 time
  ]
• by Bryan Kelly (b. 1934), "Sweetest love, I do not go", published 1961. [baritone and piano] [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Bernard George Stevens (1916 - 1983), "Sweetest love, I do not go", published 1948, from Three Songs: The Words by John Donne [
   text not verified 
  ]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title 1: "Mio dolcissimo amore", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website: 2009-01-08.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:03:03
Line count: 40
Word count: 219

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Mio dolcissimo amore

Mio dolcissimo amore, io congedo non prendo
Perché  di te sono stanco,
o perché spero di trovare al mondo
un amore più adatto;
ma poiché è mia sorte
alla fine morire, allora è meglio,
che faccia l'abitudine, per scherzo,
a morire così, fingendo la mia morte.
 
Il sole è andato via la sera avanti,
e tuttavia è qui di nuovo al mattino;
esso non ha desideri o sentimenti,
né breve come il mio è il suo cammino;
Perciò, abbandona il timore che avverti
Per me, e confida nel fatto che farò
un più rapido viaggio, perché ho
ali e sproni di quello più forti.
 
Oh quanto è fragile il potere dell'uomo,
Che, se gli tocca la buona fortuna,
non riesce ad aggiungervi un istante solo,
o riavere indietro un'ora perduta;
Ma se sopravviene la sorte avversa,
con le nostre stesse forze la accresciamo
e le insegniamo  modo e durata
così che su di noi acquisti vantaggio.
 
Quando tu sospiri, non sospiri fiato,
ma l'anima mia stessa stai esalando;
E quando tu, dolcissima crudele, versi il tuo pianto,
il sangue di mia vita stai corrompendo.
Cosa vera non è,
Che mi ami come tu affermi,
Se la mia vita si distrugge in te
Che ogni cosa migliore di me incarni.
 
Non consentire al tuo cuore indovino
Di temere per me qualche sventura;
Può decidere di darti ragione il destino
Ed inverare la tua paura.
Immagina invece che noi, soltanto
Ci siamo dati le spalle per dormire.
Quelli che si tengono l'un con l'altro
Vivi, nulla li potrà separare.

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Authorship

• Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2009 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.
  
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• a text in English by John Donne (1572 - 1631), "Song: Sweetest love, I do not go"
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Anonymous/Unidentified Artist, Matthew Emery, Bryan Kelly, Bernard George Stevens. Go to the text.

Text added to the website: 2009-05-27.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:03:14
Line count: 40
Word count: 257