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That you were once unkind befriends me now,
And for that sorrow, which I then did feel,
Needs must I under my transgression bow,
Unless my nerves were brass or hammer'd steel.
For if you were by my unkindness shaken,
As I by yours, you've pass'd a hell of time;
And I, a tyrant, have no leisure taken
To weigh how once I suffer'd in your crime.
O! that our night of woe might have remember'd
My deepest sense, how hard true sorrow hits,
And soon to you, as you to me, then tender'd
The humble salve, which wounded bosoms fits!
But that your trespass now becomes a fee;
Mine ransoms yours, and yours must ransom me.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 120 [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 David Llewellyn Green , "That you were once unkind, befriend me now", 1986 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Five Songs of Sorrow and Reconciliation, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXX", 1866 [ medium voice and 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. 120, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 117
Che tu mi fosti infedele ora mi giova, e quella sofferenza, che allora ho patito, mi aiuta a non sentirmi schiacciato dalla colpa perché non sono fatto di bronzo o di acciaio temprato. Se tu sei stato sconvolto per il mio tradimento, come io dai tuoi, quel tempo fu un inferno, ed io, nel mio arbitrio, non ho trovato il tempo per valutare quanto, per i tuoi torti, ho pure io sofferto. Oh se quella notte di affanni mi avesse rammentato in fondo all’animo, quanto colpisce duro un dolore sincero e, come anche tu allora, io ti avessi subito offerto l’umile balsamo che a ogni cuore ferito dà ristoro! Così la tua infedeltà di un tempo diventa oggi una risorsa che insieme riscatta la mia infedeltà di oggi e la tua di una volta.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 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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Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 120
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 134