Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked eclipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope, my verse shall stand.
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 60 [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):
- by J. Carlowitz Ames , "Like as the waves", published 1908 [ medium voice and piano ], London: Vincent [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Dudley Bush (1900 - 1995), no title, op. 92 no. 2 (1980), first performed 1981 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Two Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet LX - Like as the waves", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 9 (1944-5) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Edmondstoune Duncan (1866 - 1920), "Like as the waves", published 1919 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ], in collection English Songs, Book III. Glasgow: Aird & Coghill [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Like as the waves", 2021 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, viola ], from Two Sonnets, no. 1, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Stefan Lienenkämper , "Sonett 60", published 2006 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Vier Lieder nach Sonetten von W. Shakespeare, no. 4, Helmstadt : HH Musikverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LX", 1860, rev. 1861 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Hübner , copyright © ; composed by Hans-Georg Burghardt.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 60, first published 1857
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Sonet 60", appears in Z sonetów, no. 1, Warsaw, first published 1907
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 108
So wie die Wogen an die Küste wandern, So eilen die Minuten ohne Rast: Jede will nach, drängt nach dem Platz der andern, Und alle streben vorwärts voller Hast. Was sich an´s Licht drängt aus der dunkeln Nacht, Kriecht seinem Mittag zu; ist es gediehn, Wird´s bös verfinstert, um den Ruhm gebracht – Die Zeit, die gab, zerstört, was sie verliehn. Sie raubt der Jugend, was sie stolz erhält, Die Schönheit wird mit Runzeln übersät; Sie schlingt das Schönste, Köstlichste der Welt Und nichts verbleibt, das nicht ihr Schnitter mäht. Und doch! – in Tagen, die wir nicht mehr sehn, Wird noch mein Vers, zu deinem Preis, bestehn.
About the headline (FAQ)
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 92.
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 60
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 ]
Researcher for this page: Volkmar Henschel
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 108