Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough briar, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire I do wander everywhere. Swifter than the moon's sphere; And I serve the fairy queen, To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall her pensioners be; In their gold coats spots you see; Those be rubies, fairy favours, In those freckles live their savours: I must go seek some dew-drops here, And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 1. [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 Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "Over hill, over dale", op. 39 no. 1 (1897), from Three Shakespeare choruses, no. 1
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text checked 1 time] - by Matthew Dewey (b. 1984), "Over hill, over dale", 2013, first performed 2013 [ baritone and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Over hill, over dale", op. 181 no. 3 (1988) [ counter-tenor, recorder, harpsichord, and violoncello ], from Six by Four, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Janet Oates (b. 1970), "Fairy Song", 2000 [ children's voices ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Janet Oates (b. 1970), "Fairy Song" [ soprano and harp ], from Three Shakespeare Songs, no. 1
Score: Janet Oates [external link] [sung text not yet checked] - by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Over hill, over dale", 1951 [ chorus ], from Three Shakespeare Songs, no. 3, partsong [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Per colline e per valli", copyright © 2008, (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: 77
Per colline e per valli, tra rovi e boscaglie, per siepi e per campi fra piogge e fra lampi io vado vagando. Più lieve e leggero della sfera lunare La regina delle fate io debbo servire, Rugiada spargo sui magici cerchi nel prato. Le primule intorno da scorta le fanno; i loro abiti d'oro sono punteggiati da rossi rubini, doni fatati, vi sta racchiuso il loro profumo: E ora perle di rugiada io vado a cercare, orecchini a ogni primula voglio donare.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2008 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 1.
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 82