Komm herbei, Tod | Komm herbey, komm herbey, Tod!

Translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845)

Come away, come away, death

Language: English

Available translation(s): DUT GER ITA NOR

Come away, come away, death,
  And in sad cypress let me be laid;
Fly away, fly away, breath;
  I am slain by a fair cruel maid.
My shroud of white, stuck all with yew,
  O prepare it!
My part of death, no one so true
  Did share it.

Not a flower, not a flower sweet,
  On my black coffin let there be strown;
Not a friend, not a friend greet
  My poor corpse, where my bones shall be thrown:
A thousand, thousand sighs to save,
  Lay me, O where
Sad true lover never find my grave,
  To weep there!

V. Fine sets stanza 1

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Authorship:

by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, Act II, scene 4 [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):

by Arthur N. Aldridge , "Come away, Death", published [1892] [ medium voice and piano ], from Four Songs, Brighouse: Hartley [sung text not yet checked]
by R. E. H. Allport , "Come away, Death", published 1928 [ high voice and piano ], London, Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
by David Werner Amram (b. 1930), "Come away death", published 1972 [ tenor and piano or orchestra ], from Five Shakespeare Songs, no. 1, New York, Peters [sung text checked 1 time]
by (Howard) Orsmond Anderton (1861 - 1934), "Come away, come away, death", published [1910?] [ tenor and piano ], from 3 Shakespeare Songs, London : Forsyth [sung text not yet checked]
by Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019), "Dirge", 1957, published 1970 [ high voice and piano ], from 6 Elizabethan Songs, no. 4, New York, Boosey [sung text checked 1 time]
by Godfrey Edward Pellew Arkwright (1864 - 1944), "Come away Death", published [1902?] [ low voice and piano ], from Nine Songs from Shakespeare, London, Joseph Williams [sung text not yet checked]
by Thomas Augustine Arne (1710 - 1778), "Come, away death", published 1741 [sung text not yet checked]
by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "Come away, Death", 1934 [ voice and piano ], from Six Shakespeare Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Garth Baxter (b. 1946), "Come away, come away, death" [ voice and guitar ], from Four Songs from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Old Song", op. 24 no. 2 [ soprano, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Benjamin James Dale (1885 - 1943), "Come away, death" [sung text not yet checked]
by (Henry) Walford Davies, Sir (1869 - 1941), "Come away, come away, death", op. 13 no. 2, published 1902 [ voice and piano ], from The Clown's Songs in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Matthew Dewey (b. 1984), "Come away, Death", 2013, first performed 2013 [ baritone and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Madeleine Dring (1923 - 1977), "Come away, death" [sung text checked 1 time]
by John Edmunds (1913 - 1986), "Come away, Death", 1936 [sung text not yet checked]
by Vivian Fine (1913 - 2000), "Dirge", 1937-40, first performed 1941, stanza 1 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Four Elizabethan Songs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "Come away, come away, death", op. 18 no. 1 (1939), from Let Us Garlands Bring, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Wolfgang Fortner (1907 - 1987), "Death, come away", 1946, published 1947 [ voice and piano ], from Songs nach Texten von William Shakespeare mit Klavierbegleitung , no. 8, Mainz : Schott, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Come away, death", op. 181 no. 4 (1988) [ counter-tenor, recorder, harpsichord, and violoncello ], from Six by Four, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Come away, come away, death", 1936, first performed 1936 [ baritone, oboe, and piano ], from A Suite of 5 Songs from Palgrave's Golden Treasury [sung text not yet checked]
by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Come away, death", 1920 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Come away, come away, death", 2015, first performed 2016 [ counter-tenor and piano ], from O Mistress Mine -- 12 Songs for countertenor and piano on texts from plays by William Shakespeare, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Lee Hoiby (1926 - 2011), "Come away, Death", 1955 [ voice and lute ], from Songs of the Fool, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Sven Eric Emanuel Johanson (1919 - 1997), "Dirge", 1974, copyright © 1978 [ mixed chorus and piano ], from Fancies, no. 8, Stockholm : C. Gehrmans Musikförlag ; New York : Walton Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957), "Come away, death", op. 29 no. 1, published 1937 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of the Clown, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Jacques Leguerney (1906 - 1997), "Come away, come away!", 1964, published 1988 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre mélodies, no. 1, Paris, Max Eschig [sung text checked 1 time]
by Kenneth Leighton (1929 - 1988), "Come away, death", from 5 Shakespeare Songs, no. 4, available from the Kenneth Leighton Trust, e-mail jo (DOT) leighton (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co (DOT) uk [sung text checked 1 time]
by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "Come away Death", 1956 [ voice and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Come away, Death", R. 39 (1925) [ voice and piano ], Oxford University Press [sung text checked 1 time]
by Douglas Stuart Moore (1893 - 1969), "Come away, death" [sung text not yet checked]
by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Come away, death", op. 6 no. 1 (1905), published 1905 [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from Three Shakespeare Songs (First Set), no. 1, Boosey [sung text checked 1 time]
by Ethel Florence Lindesay Robertson, née Richardson (1870 - 1946), as Henry Handel Richardson, "Come away death" [sung text not yet checked]
by Betty Roe (b. 1930), "Come away, death", published 1974 [ medium voice, flute, and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "Come away Death", op. 65 no. 2 (1896), published 1897 [ voice and piano ], from The Clown's Songs from Twelfth Night, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Come away, death", 1909 [sung text checked 1 time]
by John Vergin , "Come away, death", 1988 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Stephen Wilkinson (b. 1919), "Come away, Death" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Emmanuel Hiel (1834 - 1899) , "Kom alhier, kom alhier, dood!", appears in Gedichten, in Twaalf liederen van Shakespere, no. 6, first published 1868 ; composed by Petrus Leonardus Leopoldus "Peter" Benoit.
Also set in French (Français), a translation by Maurice Bouchor (1855 - 1929) ; composed by Ernest Amédée Chausson.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845) , no title ; composed by Paul Angerer, Carl Banck, Hermann Bischoff, Johannes Brahms, Walter Braunfels, Peter Cornelius, Johann Peter Cornelius D'Alquen, Friedrich Adrian Götzloff, Emil Kauffmann, Wilhelm Killmayer, Carl Loewe, Adolph Bernhard Marx, Arnold Mendelssohn, Roger Quilter, Felix von Woyrsch, Franz Wüllner.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Hermann Schneider (1860 - 1930) ; composed by Oscar Weil.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Harald Genzmer.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Karl Georg Mantey ; composed by Wolfgang Fortner.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803) , written 1826 ; composed by Catharinus Elling, Carl Georg Peter Grädener.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Bernhard Ernst Scholz.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Friedrich Gundolf (1880 - 1931) , no title, appears in Was ihr wollt ; composed by Wilhelm Petersen.
Also set in Norwegian (Bokmål), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Catharinus Elling.
Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Carl August Hagberg (1810 - 1864) ; composed by Jean Sibelius.

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Jan Jonk) , "Kom toch gauw, kom toch gauw, dood", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (David Paley) , "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Vieni, o morte", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Kom hit, kom nå hit, død", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
POL Polish (Polski) (Józef Komierowski) , no title

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 99

Komm herbey, komm herbey, Tod!

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA SPA

  Komm herbey, komm herbey, Tod!
Und versenk' in Cypressen den Leib.
  Laß mich frey, laß mich frey, Noth!
Mich erschlägt ein holdseliges Weib.
Mit Rosmarin mein Leichenhemd, 
  O bestellt es! 
Ob Lieb' ans Herz mir tödtlich kömmt, 
  Treu' hält es.

  Keine Blum', keine Blum' süß,
Sey gestreut auf den schwärzlichen Sarg.
  Keine Seel', keine Seel', grüß'
Mein Gebein, wo die Erd' es verbarg.
  Um Ach und Weh zu wenden ab,
    Bergt alleine
Mich, wo kein Treuer wall' ans Grab,
    Und weine.

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with footnotes

Confirmed with August Wilhelm Schlegel, Shakspeare's [sic] dramatische Werke , Zweyter Theil, Berlin: bei Johann Friedrich Unger, 1797, page 214.

Authorship:

by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), no title [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, Act II, scene 4

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

by Paul Angerer (b. 1927), "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", 1960, published 1965 [ baritone and piano ], from Drei Narrenlieder aus Shakespeares Was ihr wollt, no. 1, Vienna, Doblinger [sung text not yet checked]
by Carl Banck (1809 - 1889), "Süsser Tod", op. 70 (24 Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Beglteitung des Pianoforte) no. 23, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner; note: this may be the wrong text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
by Hermann Bischoff (1868 - 1936), "Komm herbei Tod!", op. 12 (Fünf Lieder für 1 tiefe Singstimme und Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1901 [ low voice and piano ], Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Lied von Shakespeare", op. 17 no. 2, published 1861 [ women's chorus, 2 horns, harp ], from Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor mit zwei Hörner und Harfe, no. 2, Bonn, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
by Walter Braunfels (1882 - 1954), "Zweites Lied des Narren", op. 11 no. 2 (1908) [ voice and piano ], from Musik zu Shakespeares Komödie Was Ihr wollt (Twelfth Night), no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", op. 16 no. 3 (1866-73) [ vocal duet for soprano and bass with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1866 [ duet for soprano and bass with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1854 [ duet for soprano and alto ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1847 [ duet for 2 sopranos with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Johann Peter Cornelius D'Alquen (1795 - 1863), "Des Narren Lied", op. posth. 4 (10 Lieder) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Friedrich Adrian Götzloff (d. 1836), "Aus Was ihr wollt'", c1809 [sung text not yet checked]
by (Karl) Emil Kauffmann (1836 - 1909), "Komm herbei, Tod", op. 17 (Zehn Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 7, published 1884 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Tübingen, Laupp [sung text not yet checked]
by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1955, first performed 1956 [ tenor, violin, clarinet, bassoon, piano, and percussion ], from Acht Shakespeare-Lieder, no. 4, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", 1836, published 1899 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Adolph Bernhard Marx (1795 - 1866), "Aus was ihr wollt'", op. 2 no. 3, published 1830 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gesänge, no. 3, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
by Arnold Mendelssohn (1855 - 1933), "Komm herbei, Tod", published 1892-97 [sung text not yet checked]
by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Komm herbei, Tod!" [ voice and piano ], from Drei Shakespeare-Lieder, no. 1, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
by Felix von Woyrsch (1860 - 1944), "Lied des Narren", op. 3 (Drei Lieder für Bariton mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1884 [ baritone and piano ], Hamburg, Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Wüllner (1832 - 1902), "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", op. 2 (Sechs Lieder) no. 3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this text: Matthias Gräff-Schestag , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 82