by Anonymous / Unidentified Author and sometimes misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845)
They bore him barefaced on the bier
Language: English
Our translations: HEB
They bore him barefaced on the bier; Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny; And in his grave rain'd many a tear:-- [Fare you well, my dove!]1
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)These words are sung by Ophelia in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5, but they are probably not by Shakespeare.
1 omitted by Castelnuovo-Tedesco.Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, no title, appears in Hamlet [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- sometimes misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Kim Borg (1919 - 2000), "They bore him barefaced on the bier ", op. 16 no. 3 (1974), published 1977, orchestrated 1981 [ soprano, flute, and viola ], from Ophelia Sings, no. 3, Copenhagen, Engstrøm & Sødring [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cheryl Frances-Hoad (b. 1980), "They bore him barefaced on the bier" [ voice and piano ], from Two Shakespeare Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "The bore him bare faced on the bier", copyright © 2005 [ soprano, harp and strings ], from Ophelia Songs, no. 5, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Joseph Simrock (1802 - 1876) , no title, appears in Shakespeare in deutscher Übersetzung, in 6. Hamlet, first published 1868 and sometimes misattributed to Ludwig Wilhelm Friedrich Seeger (1810 - 1864); composed by Richard Georg Strauss.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845) , no title ; composed by Johannes Brahms.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Eduard Lassen.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Friedrich Ludwig Schröder (1744 - 1816) , no title, appears in Dramatische Werke, in Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark. Ein Trauerspiel in sechs Aufzügen. Nach Shakesspear [sic] ; composed by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg.
- Also set in Polish (Polski), a translation by Krystyn Ostrowski (1811 - 1882) , no title ; composed by Stanisław Moniuszko.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title
- GER German (Deutsch) (Karl Joseph Simrock) (Ludwig Wilhelm Friedrich Seeger) , no title, appears in Shakespeare in deutscher Übersetzung, in 6. Hamlet, first published 1868
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ludwig Wilhelm Friedrich Seeger) , no title, appears in Shakespeare in deutscher Übersetzung, in 6. Hamlet
- GER German (Deutsch) (Friedrich Ludwig Schröder) , no title, appears in Dramatische Werke, in Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark. Ein Trauerspiel in sechs Aufzügen. Nach Shakesspear [sic]
- HEB Hebrew (עברית) (Hamutal Atariah) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Krystyn Ostrowski) , no title
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-12-28
Line count: 4
Word count: 27
Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloß
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Our translations: ITA
Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloß,
[He non nonni, nonni, he nonni!]1
Und manche Trän' fiel in Grabes Schoß --
[Fahr wohl, meine Taube!]2
Ihr müßt singen: «'Nunter, [hinunter!]2
Und ruft ihr ihn 'nunter.»
[O wie das Rad dazu klingt!
Es ist der falsche Verwalter,
Der seines Herrn Tochter stahl.]2
Denn traut lieb Fränzel ist all meine Lust.
Und kommt er nicht mehr zurück?
Und kommt er nicht mehr zurück?
Er ist Tot, o weh!
In dein Todesbett geh,
Er kommt ja nimmer zurück.
Sein Bart war so weiß wie Schnee,
Sein Haupt dem Flachse gleich:
Er ist hin, er ist hin,
Und kein Leid bringt Gewinn:
Gott helf' ihm ins Himmelreich!
J. Brahms sets stanzas 1-3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Brahms sets stanzas 4-5 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Brahms: "Leider, ach leider!"
2 omitted by Brahms.
Text Authorship:
- by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , no title, appears in Hamlet and misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloß
", WoO posth. 22 no. 4 (1873), stanzas 1-3, from Ophelia-Lieder, no. 4. [text verified 1 time]
- by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloß
", WoO posth. 22 no. 5 (1873), stanzas 4-5, from Ophelia-Lieder, no. 5. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , title unknown, copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 117