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The Hag is astride, This night for to ride; The Devill and shee together; Through thick, and through thin, Now out, and then in, Though ne'er so foule be the weather. A Thorn or a Burr She tkes for a Spurre: With a lash of a Bramble She rides now, Through Brakes and through Bryars, O're Ditches, and Mires, She followes the Spirit that guides now. No Beast, for his food, Dares now range the wood; But husht in his laire He lies lurking: While mischeifs, by these, On Land and on Seas, At noone of Night are a working. The storme will arise, And trouble the skies; This night and more for the wonder, The ghost from the Tomb Affrighted shall come, Cal'd out by the clap of the Thunder.
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Authorship:
- by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674) [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 Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941), "The Hag", 1902, first performed 1902 [ baritone and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Alexander 'Sas' Bunge (1924 - 1980), "The hag is astride", published 1950, rev. 1968, from Four XVIIth century poems, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Liptrot Hatton (1809 - 1886), "The hag" [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "The hag" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wood (1866 - 1926), "The ride of the witch (The hag)" [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Lidy van Noordenburg) , copyright © 2008, (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: 26
Word count: 131
De heks zit voor haar nachtlijk ritje al klaar; De duivel en zij tegelijk door dun en door dik ze zijn in hun schik ofschoon het weer nergens naar lijkt Een doorn of een prik is voor haar een kick: met een braamtwijg gaat ze nu rijden door struik'n die prikk'n over sloten en slikken volgt ze de geest die gaat leiden. Geen beest durft het aan het bos in te gaan maar ligt in zijn hol stil verscholen: Terwijl onheil nog steeds te land en ter zee om middernacht rond blijft spoken. De storm wordt heel hard en de lucht pikzwart; vannacht en vaker een wonder, Verschrikt komt het spook het graf uit; is ook gewekt door de slag van de donder.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- Translation from English to Dutch (Nederlands) copyright © 2008 by Lidy van Noordenburg, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)
This text was added to the website: 2008-05-12
Line count: 26
Word count: 123