Translation by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore...
Language: English after the Middle English
Desdemona The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all a green willow: Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow: The fresh streams ran by her, and murmur'd her moans; Sing willow, willow, willow; Her salt tears fell from her, and soften'd the stones; Lay by these:-- Sing willow, willow, willow; Prithee, hie thee; he'll come anon:-- Sing all a green willow must be my garland. Sing all a green willow; Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve,- Nay, that's not next.--Hark! who is't that knocks? Emilia: It's the wind. Desdemona: Sing willow, willow, willow, I call'd my love false love; but what said he then? Sing willow, willow, willow: If I court moe women, you'll couch with moe men! Sing willow, willow, willow,
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with footnotesAuthorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, Act IV scene 3 [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Middle English from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Willow song", first published 1583
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Joseph W. Baber (b. 1937), "Willow song", op. 19 no. ? (1954-64), published 1976 [ high voice and piano ], from Shakespearean Songs, Lexington : Kelley [sung text not yet checked]
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "The poor soul sat sighing", 1934 [ voice and piano ], from Six Shakespeare Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Grant Carmichael (1851 - 1935), "A poor soul sat sighing", published 1885 [ SA chorus (or vocal duet for soprano and alto) with piano ], from Six Songs for two voices, from Shakespeare (reissued as Six Shakespeare Songs), no. 2, London : J. Curwen & Sons [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "The willow", 1923, published 1925 [ high voice and piano ], from Shakespeare Songs, Book V, no. 2, London : Chester [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "The Willow Song", op. 79 (1911), published 1911 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Fortner (1907 - 1987), "Willow, willow", 1946, published 1947 [ voice and piano ], from Songs nach Texten von William Shakespeare mit Klavierbegleitung , no. 5, Mainz : Schott, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957), "Desdemona's song", op. 31 no. 1 (1940-1) [ soprano and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Willow, willow, willow", 1881-1883, published 1885, from English Lyrics, First Set, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Betty Roe (b. 1930), "The willow song", published 1974 [ medium voice, flute, and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Sullivan, Sir (1842 - 1900), "The willow song", published 1866 [ voice and piano ], from 5 Shakespeare Songs [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "The willow song", 1890-2, published 1913, first performed 1913 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Elizabethan Songs, London : Joseph Williams [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Percy Aldridge Grainger.
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Peter Warlock.
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Edmund Horace Fellowes.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Henri Bassis (1916 - 1992) , copyright © ; composed by Joseph Kosma.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Carl Loewe.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Wilhelm Petersen.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Wolfgang Fortner.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation possibly by Johann Michael Vogl (1768 - 1840); composed by Johann Michael Vogl.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Georg Mantey ; composed by Wolfgang Fortner.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Hermann Wichmann.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960) ; composed by Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Boris Leonidovich Pasternak)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 23
Word count: 134