by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620)
The cypress curtain of the night
Language: English
Available translation(s): SPA
The cypress curtain of the night is spread, And over all a silent dew is cast. The weaker cares by sleep are conquered. But I alone with hideous grief aghast, In spite of Morpheus' charms a watch do keep Over mine eyes to banish careless sleep. Yet oft my ttrembling eyes through faintness close; And then the map of Hell before me stands, Which ghosts do see and I am one of those Ordaines to pine in sorrow's endless bands, Since from my wretched soul all hopes are reft, And now no cause of life to me is left. Grief, sieze my soul for that will still endure When my crazed body is consumed and gone; Bear it to thy black den, there keep it sure, Where thou ten thousand souls dost tire upon: Yet all do not afford such food to thee All this poor one, the worser part of me.
Authorship:
- by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620) [author's text not yet checked 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 Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), "The cypress curtain of the night", published 1601, from A Booke of Ayres = A Book of Airs, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Bangnis", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "La noche ha extendido su manto oscuro como el ciprés", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 152