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by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

My mother had a maid call'd Barbara
Language: English 
My mother had a maid call'd Barbara:
She was in love, and he she loved proved mad
And did forsake her: she had a song of 'willow;'
An old thing 'twas, but it express'd her fortune,
And she died singing it: that song to-night
Will not go from my mind; I have much to do,
But to go hang my head all at one side,
And sing it like poor Barbara. Prithee, dispatch.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960) ; composed by Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov.
    • Go to the text.

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

  • RUS Russian (Русский) (Boris Leonidovich Pasternak)


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2021-08-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 73

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