Komm, leb' mit mir und werde mein | Komm, leb' mit mir und werde mein

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.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Cecil Day Lewis (1904 - 1972)

Translation © by Walter A. Aue

Come, live with me and be my love

Language: English after the English

Our translations: GER

Come, live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
Of peace and plenty, bed and board,
That chance employment may afford.

I'll handle dainties on the docks
And thou shalt read of summer frocks:
At evening by the sour canals
We'll hope to hear some madrigals.

Care on thy maiden brow shall put
A wreath of wrinkles, and thy foot
Be shod with pain: not silken dress
But toil shall tire thy loveliness.

Hunger shall make thy modest zone
And cheat fond death of all but bone -
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Cecil Day Lewis (1904 - 1972), "Come, live with me and be my love", a parody [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593), "The passionate shepherd to his love", written 1580-1592?
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Edward Gregson (b. 1945), "Come live with me", 1980, first performed 1980 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Five Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Komm, leb' mit mir und werde mein", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Walter A. Aue

This text was added to the website: 2010-03-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 108

Komm, leb' mit mir und werde mein

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Komm, leb' mit mir und werde mein
und alle Freud' wird unser sein,
die Tisch und Bett, und Friedenstag
Kurzangestellten bieten mag.

Ich biete Süßes an am Dock
und Du träumst von dem Sommerrock;
des Nachts am stinkenden Kanal
hör'n wir vielleicht ein Madrigal.

Der Kummer, auf die Stirne Dein,
flicht Faltenkränze, und die Pein
schlägt Dir den Fuß. Kein Seidenkleid,
nur Müh' drückt Deine Lieblichkeit.

Den Busen nimmt Dir Hungersnot
und läßt nur Rippen für den Tod:
Soll'n solche Freuden Deine sein,
dann leb' mit mir und werde mein!

Text Authorship:

Singable translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2010 by Walter A. Aue, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Walter A. Aue. Contact: waue (AT) dal (DOT) ca
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in English by Cecil Day Lewis (1904 - 1972), "Come, live with me and be my love", a parody [an adaptation]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English by Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593), "The passionate shepherd to his love", written 1580-1592?
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2010-03-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 90