by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
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:--]1 Sing willow, willow, willow; [Prithee, hie thee; he'll come anon:--]1 Sing all a green willow [must be my garland.]2 [Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve,-]3 [Nay, that's not next. -- Hark! who is't that knocks? Emilia: It's the wind.]1 Desdemona: [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!]4
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Fortner, Korngold, Parry, Vaughan Williams
2 Korngold: "my garland must be"
3 omitted by Parry, Vaughan Williams, Fortner
4 omitted by Parry, Vaughan Williams
4 Fortner: "I'd called my love false love, but what did he say?/ Sing willow, willow willow,/ If I court moe women, you'll couch with moe men!"
Text Authorship:
- 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 Danish (Dansk), a translation by Edvard Lembcke (1815 - 1897) ; composed by Peter Arnold Heise.
- 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 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: 20
Word count: 128
Lied der Desdemona
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Desdemona: Die Arme, wie seufzend am Ahorn saß sie! Singt alle von grünender Weide! Die Hand auf dem Busen, das Haupt auf dem Knie, singt: Weide! Weide! Weide! Frisch murmelt der Bach in ihr Ächzen hinein. Singt: Weide! Weide! Weide! Die salzige Träne besänftigt den Stein Lege dies hin! Singt: Weide! Weide! Weide! Ich bitte dich, mach' schnell, er wird bald kommen singt all, von grün Weide mein Kränzchen muß sein. Laßt keinen ihn tadeln! Ich bill'ge den Zorn! Nein, dies kommt noch nicht. Horch! Wer klopft? Emilie: Es ist der Wind. Desdemona: Falsch nannt' ich den Liebsten! Was sagte er dann? Singt: Weide! Weide! Weide! "Lieb' mehr als ein Weib ich; lieb' mehr als ein'n Mann!" Singt: Weide! Weide! Weide! So geh' nun! Gute Nacht!
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, Act IV scene 3 [an adaptation]
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 Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Lied der Desdemona", op. 9, Heft 2 no. 2 (1827), published 1828 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-21
Line count: 27
Word count: 126