Come hither, come hither, death!

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by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Komm herbey, komm herbey, Tod!

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA SPA

  Komm herbey, komm herbey, Tod!
Und versenk' in Cypressen den Leib.
  Laß mich frey, laß mich frey, Noth!
Mich erschlägt ein holdseliges Weib.
Mit Rosmarin mein Leichenhemd, 
  O bestellt es! 
Ob Lieb' ans Herz mir tödtlich kömmt, 
  Treu' hält es.

  Keine Blum', keine Blum' süß,
Sey gestreut auf den schwärzlichen Sarg.
  Keine Seel', keine Seel', grüß'
Mein Gebein, wo die Erd' es verbarg.
  Um Ach und Weh zu wenden ab,
    Bergt alleine
Mich, wo kein Treuer wall' ans Grab,
    Und weine.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• P. Cornelius • P. Cornelius • P. Cornelius • P. Cornelius • J. D'Alquen • C. Loewe

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Confirmed with August Wilhelm Schlegel, Shakspeare's [sic] dramatische Werke , Zweyter Theil, Berlin: bei Johann Friedrich Unger, 1797, page 214.

Text Authorship:

by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), no title [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, Act II, scene 4
- Go to the text page.

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Research team for this page: Matthias Gräff-Schestag , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 85

Come hither, come hither, death!

NOTE: the footnotes have been removed from this text; return to general view

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  Come hither, come hither, death!
And sink my body into cypresses,
  Release me, release me, misery!
I am being slain by a lovely woman.
My shroud, with rosemary,
  Oh, trim it!
Though love may come fatally to my heart,
  It shall keep faith.

  No flower, no flower sweet
Be strewn upon my black coffin.
  No soul, no soul is to greet
My bones, where the earth has concealed them.
  To fend off doleful outcries,
    Hide me solely there
Where no faithful one may wander to my grave
    And weep.

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Translations of title(s):
"Aus was ihr wollt'" = "From "As You Like It"
"Des Narren Lied" = "The song of the fool"
"Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod" = "Come hither, come hither, death!"
"Komm herbei Tod!" = "Come hither, death!"
"Lied des Narren" = "Song of the fool"
"Lied von Shakespeare" = "Song by Shakespeare"
"Süsser Tod" = "Sweet death"
"Zweites Lied des Narren" = "Second song of the fool"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2022 by Sharon Krebs, (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 German (Deutsch) by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), no title
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, Act II, scene 4
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general view

This text was added to the website: 2022-08-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 94