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So are you to my thoughts as food to life,
Or as sweet-season'd showers are to the ground;
And for the peace of you I hold such strife
As 'twixt a miser and his wealth is found.
Now proud as an enjoyer, and anon
Doubting the filching age will steal his treasure;
Now counting best to be with you alone,
Then better'd that the world may see my pleasure:
Sometime all full with feasting on your sight,
And by and by clean starved for a look;
Possessing or pursuing no delight,
Save what is had, or must from you be took.
Thus do I pine and surfeit day by day,
Or gluttoning on all, or all away.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Sonnets, no. 75 [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 Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "So are you to my Thoughts as Food to Life", 1968, first performed 1972 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LXXV", 1865 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Wallnöfer (1854 - 1946), "Sonet 75", op. 78 no. 1, published 1904 [ tenor and piano ], from 5 Sonnette von William Shakespeare, no. 1, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892) , no title ; composed by Anton Beer-Walbrunn, Adolf Wallnöfer.
- Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by Lőrinc Szabó (1900 - 1957) , no title ; composed by Zoltán Horusitzky.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 75, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-12-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 117
Tu sei, ai miei pensieri, nutrimento vitale,
sei come pioggia alla terra nelle dolci stagioni;
e, per goderti in pace, debbo affannarmi quale
un avaro che lotta, e difende i suoi beni.
Ora del suo possesso orgoglioso e poi, in un minuto,
fattosi ansioso che il tempo ladro il tesoro gli tolga;
Ora meglio stimando di stare con te appartato,
per poi desiderare che il mondo la mia gioia conosca:
Talvolta sazio di stare a contemplarti soltanto,
per poi sentirmi affamato di un tuo solo sguardo;
E nessun'altra gioia cercando o possedendo,
se non quella che solo da te viene e solo da te ottengo.
Così di giorno in giorno resto sazio e affamato
o divorando tutto, o di tutto privato.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2012 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), appears in Sonnets, no. 75
This text was added to the website: 2012-03-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 121