by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773 - 1853)
When daisies pied and violets blue
Language: English
When daisies pied and violets blue [And lady-smocks all silver white, And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue]1, Do paint the meadows with delight, The cuckoo, then on ev'ry tree Mocks married men, for thus sings he, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, cuckoo: o word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear. When shepherds pipe on oaten straws, And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks, [When]2 turtles tread, and rooks, and daws, And maidens bleach their summer [smocks]3, The cuckoo, then on ev'ry tree Mocks married men, for thus sings he, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, cuckoo: o word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Stravinsky: "And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue,/ And lady-smocks all silver white"
2 Arne: "And"
3 Arne: "frocks"
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, Scene 2
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kevät", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "Lied. Der Frühling", first published 1870
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Arild Bakke) , "Når spraglet tusenfryd", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 97
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Wenn Primeln gelb und Veilchen blau Und Maßlieb silberweiß im Grün, Und Kuckucksblumen rings die Au Mit bunter Frühlingspracht umblühn, Des Kuckucks Ruf im Baum erklingt, Und neckt den Eh'mann, wenn er singt: Kucku, Kucku, Kucku. Der Mann ergrimmt, Wie er das böse Wort vernimmt. Wenn Lerche früh den Pflüger weckt, Am Bach der Schäfer flötend schleicht, Wenn Dohl' und Kräh' und Täubchen heckt, Ihr Sommerhemd das Mädchen bleicht, Des Kuckucks Ruf im Baum erklingt Und neckt den Eh'mann, wenn er singt: Kucku, Kucku, Kucku. Der Mann ergrimmt, Wie er das böse Wort vernimmt.
Composition:
- Set to music by Wilhelm Petersen (1890 - 1957), "Frühling", op. 46 no. 7, from Lieder aus Shakespeare-Dramen, no. 7
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773 - 1853), no title
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, Scene 2
See other settings of this text.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Matthias Gräff-Schestag , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-21
Line count: 18
Word count: 94