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by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960)

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

U materi moej by'la sluzhanka
Language: Russian (Русский)  after the English 
U materi moej by'la sluzhanka
Barvara. Drug ee, gulyavshij s neyu,
By'l vetrogonom i Barvaru brosil.
By'la u nej izlyublennaya pesn`,
Starinnaya, pod stat` ee stradan`yu,
Pro ivu, s nej ona i umerla…
Vot e`ta pesnya u menya segodnya
Iz golovy' ves` vecher ne vy'xodit...

About the headline (FAQ)

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

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Note on Transliterations

Show untransliterated (original) text

Text Authorship:

  • by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice
    • Go to the text page.

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 ]


This text (or a part of it) is used in a work
  • by Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov (1915 - 1998), "Песня Дездемоны об иве"
      • Go to the full setting text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2021-08-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 45

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