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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)
Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "A lament", first published 1824 [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 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 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 text: Graham Musto
This text was added to the website: 2004-05-02
Line count: 10
Word count: 67
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!
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.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "A lament", first published 1824
This text was added to the website: 2009-10-21
Line count: 10
Word count: 65