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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

The Riddle Song
 (Sung text for setting by B. Britten)
 Matches base text
Language: English 
Our translations:  CAT FRE
I will give my love an apple without e'er a core,
I will give my love a house without e'er a door,
I will give my love a palace wherein she may be,
And she may unlock it without any key.

My head is the apple without e'er a core,
My mind is the house without e'er a door,
My heart is the palace wherein she may be,
And she may unlock it without any key.

Composition:

    Set to music by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The Riddle Song" [ voice and guitar ]

Text Authorship:

  • from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , a folk song from Dorset collected by H. Hammond and R. Vaughan Williams

See other settings of this text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 76

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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