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by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

Batter my heart
 (Sung text for setting by B. Britten)
 Matches original text
Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE GER
Batter my heart, three person'd God; for you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue.
Yet dearely I love you, and would be loved faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemie:
Divorce mee, untie, or breake that knot againe,
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish mee.

Composition:

    Set to music by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Batter my heart", op. 35 no. 2 (1945), published c1946 [ high voice and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, no. 2

Text Authorship:

  • by John Donne (1572 - 1631), no title, appears in Holy Sonnets, no. 14

See other settings of this text.

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Daniel Johannsen) , copyright © 2020, (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: 14
Word count: 118

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