O! never say that I was false of heart
Language: English
O! never say that I was false of heart,
Though absence seem'd my flame to qualify,
As easy might I from my self depart
As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie:
That is my home of love: if I have rang'd,
Like him that travels, I return again;
Just to the time, not with the time exchang'd,
So that myself bring water for my stain.
Never believe though in my nature reign'd,
All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,
That it could so preposterously be stain'd,
To leave for nothing all thy sum of good;
For nothing this wide universe I call,
Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all.
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Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet CIX - O never say that I was false", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 21 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "O never say that I was false of heart", 1888-1906, published 1907 [ medium voice and piano ], from English Lyrics, Seventh Set, no. 4, London : Novello [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CIX", 1863 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludmilla Ulehla (b. 1923), "O never say that I was false of heart" [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Nikolay Vasilyevich Gerbel (1827 - 1883) , no title ; composed by Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 116
Non m’ accusare di avere un cuore falso
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English
Non m’ accusare di avere un cuore falso
pur se la mia assenza sembrò smorzare il mio ardore
potrebbe venirmi più facile separarmi da me stesso
che dall’anima mia che giace nel tuo cuore.
Lì il mio amore dimora: e se mi sono allontanato
come uno che viaggia, ecco che ritorno
al momento giusto; il tempo non mi ha cambiato,
e per lavar la mia colpa io stesso l’acqua porto.
Né pensare mai, anche se in me dovessero regnare
tutte le debolezze delle stirpi umane,
che in modo tanto assurdo io possa peccare
da scambiare con niente la somma del tuo bene.
Perché niente vale, per me, l’universo infinito
eccetto te, mia rosa; che rappresenti il mio tutto.
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Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
