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Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough briar, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire I do wander everywhere. Swifter than the moon's sphere; And I serve the fairy queen, To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall her pensioners be; In their gold coats spots you see; Those be rubies, fairy favours, In those freckles live their savours: I must go seek some dew-drops here, And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.
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Authorship
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 1. [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 Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "Over hill, over dale", op. 39 no. 1 (1897), from Three Shakespeare choruses, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Over hill, over dale ", op. 181 no. 3 (1988) [ counter-tenor, recorder, harpsichord, and violoncello ], from Six by Four, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Over hill, over dale", 1951 [ chorus ], from Three Shakespeare Songs, no. 3, partsong [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Per colline e per valli", 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: 14
Word count: 77
Per colline e per valli, tra rovi e boscaglie, per siepi e per campi fra piogge e fra lampi io vado vagando. Più lieve e leggero della sfera lunare La regina delle fate io debbo servire, Rugiada spargo sui magici cerchi nel prato. Le primule intorno da scorta le fanno; i loro abiti d'oro sono punteggiati da rossi rubini, doni fatati, vi sta racchiuso il loro profumo: E ora perle di rugiada io vado a cercare, orecchini a ogni primula voglio donare.
Authorship
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2008 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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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- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 1.
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 82