How oft when thou, my music, music play'st,
Upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds
With thy sweet fingers when thou gently sway'st
The wiry concord that mine ear confounds,
Do I envy those jacks that nimble leap,
To kiss the tender inward of thy hand,
Whilst my poor lips which should that harvest reap,
At the wood's boldness by thee blushing stand!
To be so tickled, they would change their state
And situation with those dancing chips,
O'er whom thy fingers walk with gentle gait,
Making dead wood more bless'd than living lips.
Since saucy jacks so happy are in this,
Give them thy fingers, me thy lips to kiss.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 128 [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 Juriaan Andriessen (1925 - 1996), "How oft when thou, my music, music play'st", from Thy black is fairest, 3 Shakespeare-sonnets, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Benjamin Burrows (1891 - 1966), "Sonnet CXXVIII", 1928 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet CXXVIII - How oft, when thou my music", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 23 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lee Hoiby (1926 - 2011), "Sonnet 128", 2004 [ voice and piano ], from Sonnets and Soliloquies, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Passmore (b. 1954), "How oft when thou, my music, music play'st" [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Seven Dark Lady Sonnets , no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXXVIII", 1862-6 [ SSB chorus or vocal trio and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Evan Thomas (b. 1958), "When thou, my music, music play'st", 2004 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 128, 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) , "Quando tu , musica mia, musica ricavi", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 111
Wenn du, die selbst Musik ist, musizierst, Das Holz, das selig tönt, wenn es sich regt, Mit deinen süßen Fingern hold regierst, Daß süßer Wohllaut mir das Herz bewegt, Beneid ich diese Tasten, die so kühn Das zarte Innre deiner Hände küssen, Indes errötend meine Lippen glühn, Daß sie bei solcher Kühnheit stillstehn müssen. Für solchen Druck, wie gern wär ich das Holz, Das unter´m Tanzgang deiner Finger bebt; Den toten Kasten machst du froh und stolz, Beglückst ihn mehr als diesen Mund, der lebt! Das freche Ding! wenn´s schon beglückt sein muß, Gib ihm die Finger, mir den Mund zum Kuß!
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 94.
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. 128
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: 102