Canção da Fiandeira
Language: Portuguese (Português)
Lindo linho, cresce, cresce
Em terra do paraíso;
Dou-te água das minhas lágrimas,
Dou-te o sol, no meu sorriso.
Linho, linho! O que hás-de ser?
Depois da foice, a espadela1
Depois, o novelo; e a teia...
Doce enxoval depois dela.
Forma-se a estriga2, no fuso.
Alva linha que não parte;
Assim, Amor! Os meus sonhos
Sejam fios de enlear-te...
Anda, sarilho! Ensarilha
Esta meada comprida...
Assim Deus me ensarilhasse
Os fios da minha vida.
Tece, tece, meu tear,
Ao bater do coração,
Teia de amor que há de ver
Tanto beijo e tanto pão!
View original text (without footnotes)
1 espadela: a wooden scutching knife for scraping the straw part of the stalk away from the flax fibre, after retting.
2 estriga: the name given to a bundle of flax before it gets spun.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Amanda Cole) , "Song of the spinstress", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Amanda Cole
This text was added to the website: 2012-04-30
Line count: 20
Word count: 97
Song of the spinstress
Language: English after the Portuguese (Português)
Beautiful flax, grow, grow
In the earth of paradise;
I give you the water of my tears,
I give you sun in my smile.
Flax, flax! What will become of you?
After the scythe, the scutcher;
After, the ball of thread; and the fabric...
Sweet trousseau after that.
The strike of flax shapes in the spindle.
White thread that doesn't break;
Like this, my love, may my dreams
Be threads to fasten you...
Go, reel! Bind together
This long skein ...
I wish God would so bind
The strings of my life.
Weave, weave, my loom,
To the beating of my heart,
Fabric of love that will see
So many kisses and so much bread.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Portuguese (Português) to English copyright © 2012 by Amanda Cole, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2012-04-30
Line count: 20
Word count: 114
