Komm herbey, komm herbey, Tod!
Und [versenk' in]1 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.]2

  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,]3
    Und weine.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

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

¹ D'Alquen: "begrab' "; Killmayer: "bedeck mit"; further changes for Killmayer's setting may exist not noted above.
² Loewe: "Mein Totenkleid mit Eibenblatt, o beeilt es! / Mein Todeslos, kein Treu'rer hat geteilt es."
³ Cornelius: "Bergt mich alleine / Da, wo kein Treuer wall' ans Grab"; D'Alquen: "bergt alleine/ mich, wo kein Treuer komm' ans Grab"; Loewe: "Laßt alleine / Mich ruh'n im Grab, kein Treuer komm' "

Text 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
  • Go to the text page.

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 Hermann (Ernst?) Levi (1839 - 1900), "Komm' herbei, Tod!" [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
• 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 Arnold Mendelssohn (1855 - 1933), "Komm' herbei, Tod", published 1892 [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Lieder nach Shakespeare für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 4, Mainz, Schott [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):

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Kom maar op, kom maar op, dood", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Jacques Jobard) , "Chant de Shakespeare", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Gianni Franceschi) , "Canzone", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfonso Sebastián) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 81

Vieni qui, vieni qui, morte
e sprofonda il mio corpo tra i cipressi;
lasciami libero, lasciami libero, affanno,
mi uccide una donna incantevole.
Con il rosmarino la mia veste funebre
appronta!
Anche se l'amore giunge mortale al mio cuore,
serbalo fedele.

Nessun fiore, nessun dolce fiore
sia sparso sulla nera bara;
che anima viva non saluti
le mie ossa, là dove la terra le cela.
Per impedire sospiri e lamenti, 
nascondimi
dove nessun amante fedele 
possa giungere presso la tomba
e pianga.