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Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked eclipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope, my verse shall stand.
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 60 [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 J. Carlowitz Ames , "Like as the waves", published 1908 [ medium voice and piano ], London: Vincent [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Dudley Bush (1900 - 1995), "Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore", op. 92 no. 2 (1980), first performed 1981 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Two Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet LX - Like as the waves", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 9 (1944-5) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Edmondstoune Duncan (1866 - 1920), "Like as the waves", published 1919 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ], in collection English Songs, Book III. Glasgow: Aird & Coghill [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Like as the waves", 2021 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, viola ], from Two Sonnets, no. 1, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Stefan Lienenkämper , "Sonett 60", published 2006 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Vier Lieder nach Sonetten von W. Shakespeare, no. 4, Helmstadt : HH Musikverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LX", 1860, rev. 1861 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Hübner , copyright © ; composed by Hans-Georg Burghardt.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 60, first published 1857
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Sonet 60", appears in Z sonetów, no. 1, Warsaw, first published 1907
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 108
Simili a flutti che incalzano verso ghiaiosa riva,
così verso il termine loro si affrettano i nostri istanti;
e ognuno prende il posto di quello che c'era prima
e in affannosa sequenza tutti procedono avanti.
Il nascere, non appena si affaccia alla luce,
già striscia verso la maturità che, incoronata appena,
già vede una maligna eclissi che il suo splendore riduce,
e il Tempo già riprende ciò che aveva donato prima.
Trafigge il Tempo i fiori della giovinezza
e, in fronte alla beltà, solchi paralleli incide,
divora, di Natura, ogni più rara bellezza
fa, la sua falce, covoni di ogni cosa che vive:
Ma la mia lode di te sempre sarà, per questi versi, viva
a dispetto del Tempo e della sua mano cattiva.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2009 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 60
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 124