Blow, blow thou winter wind | Blow, blow thou winter wind

Blow, blow, thou winter wind

Language: English

Our translations: CHI GER ITA ITA

Blow, blow thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,
Thou dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remember'd not.
Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Note: In Steele's score, "Heigh" is spelled "Hey"

Composition:

Juliana Hall

O Mistress Mine -- 12 Songs for countertenor and piano on texts from plays by William Shakespeare

Text Authorship:

by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7

See other settings of this text.

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

FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot)

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 118