by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Translation by Walter Savage Landor (1775 - 1864)

Mother, I cannot mind my wheel
 (Sung text for setting by S. Barber)
 Matches base text
Language: English  after the Aeolic Greek 
Mother, I cannot mind my wheel;
My fingers ache, my lips are dry:
O, if you feel the pain I feel!
But O, who ever felt as I?

No longer could I doubt him true -
All other men may use deceit;
He always said my eyes were blue,
And often swore my lips were sweet.

Composition:

    Set to music by Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), "Mother, I cannot mind my wheel", 1927, published 2008 [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a CD booklet

Text Authorship:

Based on:

See other settings of this text.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 55