When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls, all silvered o'er with white; When lofty trees I see barren of leaves, Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, And summer's green all girded up in sheaves, Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do I question make, That thou among the wastes of time must go, Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake And die as fast as they see others grow; And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 12 [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 David Llewellyn Green , "When I do count the clock that tells the time", published 1986 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Five Songs of Sorrow and Reconciliation, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016), "XII (When I do count the clock that tells the time)", op. 14 no. 2 (1952), published 1973, first performed 1953 [ soprano and piano ], from Three Sonnets of Shakespeare, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XII", 1864 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Winkler , "When I do count the clock that tells the time", 1877 [ satb chorus and piano ], from Two Choral Pieces, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) , no title, appears in Шекспир Уильям - сонеты (Shekspir Uil'jam - sonety) = Sonnets of William Shakespeare, no. 12 ; composed by Grigory Samuilovich Frid.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , appears in Œuvres Complètes de Shakspeare Volume VIII, in Sonnets, no. 12, first published 1863
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 12, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Quando considero il pendolo, che il tempo scandisce...", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
Kogda chasy mne govorjat, chto svet Potonet skoro v groznoj t'me nochnoj, Kogda fialki vjanet nezhnyj cvet I tjomnyj lokon bleshchet sedinoj, Kogda listva nesetsja vdol' dorog, V poldnevnyj znoj khranivshaja stada, I nam kivajet s pogrebal'nykh drog Sedykh snopov gustaja boroda, -- Ja dumaju o krasote tvojej, O tom, chto jej pridjotsja otcvesti, Kak vsem cvetam lesov, lugov, polej, Gde novoje gotovitsja rasti. No jesli smerti serp neumolim, Ostav' potomkov, chtoby sporit' s nim!
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Text Authorship:
- by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964), no title, appears in Шекспир Уильям - сонеты (Shekspir Uil'jam - sonety) = Sonnets of William Shakespeare, no. 12 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 12
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Grigory Samuilovich Frid (1915 - 2012), "Сонет 12: Когда часы мне говорят", op. 34 no. ? (1959), published 1964 [ baritone and piano ], from Пять сонетов У. Шекспира (Pjat' sonetov U. Shekspira) = Five Sonnets of William Shakespeare [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 74