Translation by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Desdemona's song See base text
Language: English after the Middle English
Desdemona The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all a green willow: Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow: The fresh streams ran by her, and murmur'd her moans; Sing willow, willow, willow; Her salt tears fell from her, and soften'd the stones; ... Sing willow, willow, willow; ... Sing all a green willow my garland must be Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve,- ... Desdemona: I call'd my love false love; but what said he then? Sing willow, willow, willow: If I court moe women, you'll couch with moe men!
Composition:
- Set to music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957), "Desdemona's song", op. 31 no. 1 (1940-1) [ soprano and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, Act IV scene 3 [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in Middle English from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Willow song", first published 1583
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Boris Leonidovich Pasternak)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 128