Take, o take those lips away, That so sweetly [were]1 forsworn; And those eyes, the break of day, Lights [that]2 do mislead the morn: But my kisses bring again; Seals of love, [but]3 seal'd in vain, sealed in vain. Hide, o hide those hills of snow that thy frozen bosom wears, On whose tops the pinks that grow are yet of those that April wears; But first set my poor heart free, Bound in those icy chains by thee.
Four Shakespeare Songs
Song Cycle by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994)
1. O take those lips away  [sung text not yet checked]
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
- sometimes misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (L. A. J. Burgersdijk)
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Sarah L. Weller) , "Nimm, so nimm doch Deine Lippen fort", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Śpiew Pacholęcia", Warsaw, first published 1907
Note: quoted by John Fletcher, in Bloody Brother, 1639 and by William Shakespeare, in Measure for Measure, Act IV, scene 1, c1604 (just one stanza)
1 Bishop: "are"
2 Bishop: "which"
3 Bishop: "tho'"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
2. The wind and the rain  [sung text not yet checked]
When that I was and a little tiny boy, [With]1 hey, ho, the wind and the rain, A foolish thing was but a toy, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came to man's estate, [With]1 hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came, alas! to wive, [With]1 hey, ho, the wind and the rain, By swaggering could I never thrive, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came unto my beds, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, With toss-pots still had drunken heads, For the rain it raineth every day. A great while ago the world [begun]2, [With]1 hey, ho, the wind and the rain, But that's all one, our play is done, And we'll strive to please you every day.
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, Act V, Scene 1
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
- POL Polish (Polski) (Józef Komierowski) , no title
1 Amram: "With a"
2 Amram: "began"
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
3. Come away Death  [sung text not yet checked]
[Come away, come away, death]1, And in sad cypress let me be laid; Fly away, fly away, breath; I am slain by a fair cruel maid. My shroud of white, stuck all with yew, [O prepare it!]2 My part of death, no one so true Did share it. Not a flower, not a flower sweet, On my black coffin let there be [strown]3; Not a friend, not a friend greet My poor corpse, where my bones shall be [thrown]4: [A thousand, thousand sighs to save,]5 Lay me, O where [Sad true]6 lover never find my grave, [To weep there!]7
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, Act II, scene 4
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Jan Jonk) , "Kom toch gauw, kom toch gauw, dood", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (David Paley) , "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Vieni, o morte", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Kom hit, kom nå hit, død", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Józef Komierowski) , no title
1 Fortner: "Death, come away, come away"
2 Dring: "Come prepare it"
3 Leguerney: "thrown"; Wilkinson: "strewn"
4 Leguerney: "strown"
5 Korngold: "A thousand sighs to save,"; omitted by Argento.
6 Korngold: "True"
7 Amram: "did share it." [mistake?]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
3. King Stephen
King Stephen was a worthy peer, His breeches cost him but a crown; He held them sixpence all too dear, With that he called the tailor lown. He was a wight of high renown. And thou art but of low degree: 'Tis pride that pulls the country down; Then take thine auld cloak about thee.
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, Act II, Scene 3 [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , Scottish ballad
Go to the general single-text view
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo) , no title