by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Otto Gildemeister (1823 - 1902)
When daffodils begin to peer
Language: English
Our translations: CHI
When daffodils begin to peer -
With heigh! The doxy over the dale -
Why, then comes the sweet o' the year;
For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale.
The white sheet bleaching on the hedge -
With heigh! The sweet birds, O how they sing!
Doth set my pugging tooth on edge;
For a quart of ale is a dish for a king.
The lark, that tirra-lirra chants,
With heigh! with heigh! The thrush and the jay,
Are summer songs for me and my aunts,
While we lie tumbling in the hay.
But shall I go mourn for that, my dear?
The pale moon shines by night:
And when I wander here and there,
I then do most go right.
Jog on, jog on, the foot-path way,
And merrily hent the stile-a:
A merry heart goes all the day,
Your sad tires in a mile-a.
R. Quilter sets stanzas 1-3
E. Moeran sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in A Winter's Tale, Act IV, Scene 3 [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 Marc Blitzstein (1905 - 1964), "Shepherd's song", published 1958 [ low voice, piano ], from Six Elizabethan Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Merry heart" [ voice and piano ], from Shakespeare Songs, Book IX, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Fletcher , "When daffodils begin to peer ", 1950, first performed 1950 [ baritone and piano ], from A Shakespeare Triad [sung text not yet checked]
- by John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "When daffodils begin to peer", 1903, from Songs of a Wayfarer, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "The sweet o' the year", R. 61 (1931), published 1931, stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ], Augener [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "When daffodils begin to peer", op. 30 no. 2 (1933), published 1933, stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs (Third Set), no. 2, London, Boosey [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "When daffodils begin to peer", op. 374 (1952) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "The sweet o' the year", 1928, published 1929 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Songs of Summer, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Otto Gildemeister (1823 - 1902) , no title ; composed by Jan Karol Gall.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , no title
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 145
Wann die Narzissel schaun durchs Moos
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Wann die Narzissel schaun durchs Moos -- Juchhei, mit Strunzel übers Feld! -- Da geht vom Jahr das Beste los, Da kommt warm Blut in die Winterkält'. Das weiße Linnen bleicht auf der Heck' -- Juchhei, was singen die Vögel so fein! -- Da wird mein Diebszahn scharf und keck; Denn ein Maß braun Bier schmeckt wie Königswein. Die Lerche mit Trillern säuberlich -- Juchhei, mit Drossel und Häher dabei! -- Macht Sommermusik fürs Bäschen und mich, Derweil wir liegen und kollern im Heu. Doch soll ich darum trauern Schatz? Der blasse Mond scheint helle; Und wandre ich von Platz zu Platz, So komm' ich auch zur Stelle. Wenn Kesselflicker frei ausgehn Mit ihrem Lederranzen, Da kann auch ich wohl Rede stehn Und in der Tretmühl' tanzen.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Das Wintermärchen von William Shakespeare. Übersetzt von Otto Gildemeister. Mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen, Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1870, p. 56.
1 Gall: "Wenn die Narcissel"; further changes may exist not shown above.
Text Authorship:
- by Otto Gildemeister (1823 - 1902), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in A Winter's Tale, Act IV, Scene 3
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jan Karol Gall (1856 - 1912), "Wenn die Narcissel schau'n durch's Moos", op. 6 (Drei Lieder für Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 1, published 1882 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-12-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 122