by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773 - 1853)

When daisies pied and violets blue
Language: English 
Available translation(s): FIN FRE NOR
When daisies pied and violets blue
 [And lady-smocks all silver white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue,]1
  Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo, then on ev'ry tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
  Cuckoo,
Cuckoo, cuckoo: o word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
  And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks,
[When]2 turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
  And maidens bleach their summer [smocks]3,
The cuckoo, then on ev'ry tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
  Cuckoo,
Cuckoo, cuckoo: o word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Stravinsky: reversed.
2 Arne: "And"
3 Arne: "frocks"

Authorship:

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


The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

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

  • FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kevät", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "Lied. Der Frühling", first published 1870
  • NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Arild Bakke) , "Når spraglet tusenfryd", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 97

Wenn Primeln gelb und Veilchen blau
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English 
Wenn Primeln gelb und Veilchen blau
Und Maßlieb silberweiß im Grün,
Und Kuckucksblumen rings die Au
Mit [bunter Frühlingspracht]1 umblühn,
Des Kuckucks Ruf im Baum erklingt,
Und [neckt]2 den Eh'mann, wenn er singt:
Kucku, 
Kucku, Kucku. Der Mann ergrimmt,
[Wie er das böse]3 Wort vernimmt.

Wenn Lerche früh den Pflüger weckt,
Am Bach der Schäfer flötend schleicht,
Wenn Dohl' und Kräh' und [Täubchen]4 heckt,
Ihr Sommerhemd das Mädchen bleicht,
Des Kuckucks Ruf im Baum erklingt
Und [neckt]2 den Eh'mann, wenn er singt:
Kucku, 
Kucku, Kucku. Der Mann ergrimmt,
[Wie er das böse]3 Wort vernimmt.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Shakespeares sämtliche dramatische Werke in neurevidierter Übersetzung von Schlegel und Tieck., Stuttgart, Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1889, page 236. In Liebes Leid und Lust, with the heading Lied, and the word Frühling preceding the text.

1 Peterson: "buntem Frühlingsflor"
2 Peterson: "foppt"
3 Peterson: "Wenn er das schnöde"
4 D'Alquen: "Turtel"

Authorship:

Based on:

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


The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Matthias Gräff-Schestag , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-21
Line count: 18
Word count: 94