by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Those pretty wrongs that liberty commits
 (Sung text for setting by D. Diamond)
 Matches original text
Language: English 
Our translations:  ITA
Those pretty wrongs that liberty commits,
When I am sometime absent from thy heart,
Thy beauty, and thy years full well befits,
For still temptation follows where thou art.
Gentle thou art, and therefore to be won,
Beauteous thou art, therefore to be assailed;
And when a woman woos, what woman's son
Will sourly leave her till she have prevailed?
Ay me! but yet thou might'st my seat forbear,
And chide thy beauty and thy straying youth,
Who lead thee in their riot even there
Where thou art forced to break a twofold truth: --
  Hers by thy beauty tempting her to thee,
  Thine, by thy beauty being false to me.

Composition:

    Set to music by David Leo Diamond (1915 - 2005), "Those pretty wrongs that liberty commits", 1964, published 1967 [ high voice and piano ], from We Two, no. 3, New York : Southern

Text Authorship:

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


Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller

This text was added to the website: 2005-08-31
Line count: 14
Word count: 110