by Robert Greene (1558 - 1592)
Sephestia's Lullaby See original
Language: English
Our translations: GER
Weep not, my wanton, smile upon my knee;
When thou art old there's grief enough for thee.
Mother's wag, pretty boy,
Father's sorrow, father's joy;
When thy father first did see
Such a boy by him and me,
He was glad, I was woe;
Fortune changèd made him so,
When he left his pretty boy,
Last his sorrow, first his joy.
...
Weep not, my wanton, smile upon my knee;
When thou art old there's grief enough for thee.
The wanton smiled, father wept,
Mother cried, baby leapt;
More he crow'd, more we cried,
Nature could not sorrow hide:
He must go, he must kiss
Child and mother, baby bliss,
For he left his pretty boy,
Father's sorrow, father's joy.
Weep not, my wanton, smile upon my knee,
When thou art old there 's grief enough for thee.
Composition:
- Set to music by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sephestia's Lullaby", op. 41 no. 3, stanzas 1,3, from A Charm of Lullabies, no. 3
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Greene (1558 - 1592), "Sephestia's Lullaby", written 1589, from the prose-poem Menaphon
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Sephestias Wiegenlied", copyright © 2015, (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: 32
Word count: 198