O World! O Life! O Time!
On whose last steps I climb,
Trembling at that where I had stood before;
When will return the glory of your prime?
No more - oh, never more!
Out of the day and night
A joy has taken flight:
Fresh spring, and summer, and winter hoar
Move my faint heart with grief, but with delight
No more - oh, never more!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by John Harold Ashe (b. 1938), "O world! O life!", published 1947 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Lane Bayliff , "Threnos", published 1904, from Two Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur C. Berdahl , "Threnos" [ SSATB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marjorie Aimee Bram , "Lament", published 1940 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000), "O World", op. 32 no. 2, published 1960 [ voice and piano or trombone ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "A lament", published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from English Lyrics, Twelfth Set, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Evelyn Hope Squire (1878 - 1936), "A Lament" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Still (1910 - 1971), "A lament" [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Nářek"
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "O Mondo! O Vita! O Tempo!", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Konstantin Dmitrevich Bal'mont) , "Вопль", written 1893
Researcher for this page: Graham Musto
This text was added to the website: 2004-05-02
Line count: 10
Word count: 65
O Mondo! O Vita! O Tempo!
di cui gli estremi gradini ascendo,
e osservo tremando quelli che lascio giù;
Quando farà ritorno la vostra gloria prima?
Mai più - Oh, mai più!
Da ogni giorno, da ogni notte
ogni piacere è volato:
E fresca primavera, estate, e inverno canuto
il fragile mio cuore muovono a pena, ma più
non danno gioia - Oh, mai più!