by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
 (Sung text for setting by D. Diamond)
 Matches original text
Language: English 
Our translations:  ITA
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
  But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
  All losses are restored and sorrows end.

Composition:

    Set to music by David Leo Diamond (1915 - 2005), "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought", 1964, published 1967 [ high voice and piano ], from We Two, no. 9, New York : Southern

Text Authorship:

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


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 116