by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation © by Pauline Kroger

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more
Language: English 
Available translation(s): DUT FIN ITA
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever;
[ One foot in sea and one on shore;
To one thing constant never. ]1
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no more,
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
[ The fraud of men was ever so
Since summer first was leavy. ]1
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

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View original text (without footnotes)
1 Lines reversed in version set by Fisher

Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Emmanuel Hiel (1834 - 1899) , "O, meisjes, zucht niet ach en wee", appears in Gedichten, in Twaalf liederen van Shakespere, no. 4, first published 1868 ; composed by Petrus Leonardus Leopoldus "Peter" Benoit.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Jules Ruelle (1834 - 1892) ; composed by Akhilles Nikolayevich Alferaki.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):


Researcher for this text: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 101

De samenzwering
Language: Dutch (Nederlands)  after the English 
Zucht niet meer, dames, dames, zucht niet meer,
Mannen bedriegen van oudsher,
één voet in zee enéén op het land,
Ze zijn zo constant als een dwaalster.
Zucht niet zo zwaar, 
vergeet ze nu maar,
Wees liever blij en vrolijk,
Zet al je treurgeluiden om in
Hé, hé, nonny nonny nonny nonny.

Zing nu geen klaagzang, zing die niet meer,
Niet meer zangen, zo somber en zwaar,
Mannen belazerden altijd de kluit
Zo lang als de zomers zijn daar.
Zucht niet zo zwaar, 
vergeet ze nu maar,
Wees liever blij en vrolijk,
Zet al je treurgeluiden om in
Hé, hé, nonny nonny nonny nonny.

Authorship:

  • Translation from English to Dutch (Nederlands) copyright © 2009 by Pauline Kroger, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.

    Pauline Kroger.  Contact: Paulinekroger (AT) cs (DOT) com

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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2009-11-16
Line count: 18
Word count: 104