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Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king; Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring, Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing, Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo! The palm and may make country houses gay, Lambs frisk and play, the [shepherds pipe]1 all day, And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay, Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo! The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet, Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit, In every street these tunes our ears do greet, Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo! Spring! The sweet Spring!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Argento: "shepherd pipes"
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Nashe (1567 - 1601), appears in Summer's Last Will and Testament, first published 1600 [author's text not yet checked 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 Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019), "Spring", 1957, published 1970 [ high voice and piano ], from 6 Elizabethan Songs, no. 1, New York, Boosey [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Spring, the sweet spring", op. 44 no. 3 (1949) [ soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, mixed chorus, boys' chorus, and orchestra ], from Spring Symphony, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934), "Spring, the sweet spring", 1915, published 1919, first performed 1915 [ voice and piano ], from Four Old English Lyrics, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927), "Spring, the sweet spring", 1972-3 [ high voice and piano ], from A Miscellany of Love Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard van Dieren (1887 - 1936), "Spring", 1926, published 1927 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Bruce Faith (b. 1926), "Spring, the sweet Spring" [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Spring, the sweet Spring", op. 35, published 1956 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Spring", 1913-1914, published 1920 [ mezzo-soprano and instrumental ensemble ], from Five Elizabethan Songs (The Elizas), no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Hageman (1881 - 1966), "Nature’s Holliday" [ voice and piano ], from Two Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilfred Josephs (b. 1927), "Spring", 1972 [ satb chorus and optional junior chorus and orchestra with optional vibraphone ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Constant Lambert (1905 - 1951), "Movement III. Coranto", from Summer's Last Will and Testament, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kirke Mechem (b. 1925), "Spring", op. 24 no. 1 (1964), published c1968 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from Five Centuries of Spring, no. 1, Bryn Mawr, PA : Th. Presser Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Spring, the sweet Spring", R. 54 no. 3 (1930?), published 1933 [ chorus ], from Songs of Springtime, no. 3, Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roxanna Panufnik (b. 1968), "The Sweet Spring", 1999, first performed 1999 [ chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "Spring, the sweet spring " [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Spring", op. 63 (1945), published 1951 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Spring", op. 197 (1948) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Spring", op. 532 (1959) [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Spring, The Sweet Spring", op. 635 (1963) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "Spring", 1922-3, published 1924, from Peterisms: second set, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Julia Hamann) , "Frühling", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 95
Frühling, süßer Frühling, bist des Jahres lieber König; Wenn alles blüht, wenn Mädchen tanzen im Kreise, kein Frost sticht mehr, die hübschen Vögel singen, Cuckoo, ............................... Die Milde und der Mai machen das Landleben fröhlich, Lämmer tollen und Schäfer blasen ihre Flöte den ganzen Tag, wir hören Vogelschwärme dies heitre Gelände mit Klang erfüllen Cuckoo, ............................... Die Felder atmen Süße, die Gänseblümchen küssen unsere Füße, Liebende finden sich und alte Frauen sonnend sitzen, auf jedem Weg grüsst solcher Klang unser Ohr, Cuckoo, ............................... Frühling, süßer Frühling!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2007 by Julia Hamann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., please ask the copyright-holder(s) directly.
Julia Hamann.  Contact: liaman (AT) gmx.net
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Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Nashe (1567 - 1601), appears in Summer's Last Will and Testament, first published 1600
This text was added to the website: 2007-08-28
Line count: 13
Word count: 86