by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Language: English 
Our translations:  GER IRI ITA
O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O stay and hear, your true love's coming 
That can sing both high and low.

Trip no further, pretty sweeting;
Journeys end in lovers' meeting,
Ev'ry wise man's son doth know.

What is love? 'Tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What's to come is still unsure:

In delay there lies no plenty;
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty;
Youth's a stuff will not endure.

Composition:

    Set to music by Mary Grant Carmichael (1851 - 1935), "O Mistress mine", published 1889 [ voice and piano ], from Four Songs, no. 3, London: J. & J. Hopkinson ; possibly published 1887 in Songs of the Stream

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
  • FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (David Paley) , "O Fräulein meins! Woher du wanderst", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "O mia signora", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • POL Polish (Polski) (Józef Komierowski) , no title [an adaptation]


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 74