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I met the Bishop on the road And much said he and I. "Those breasts are flat and fallen now, Those veins must soon be dry; Live in a heavenly mansion, Not in some foul sty." "Fair and foul are near of kin, And fair needs foul," I cried. "My friends are gone, but that's a truth Nor grave nor bed denied, Learned in bodily [lowliness]1 And in the heart's pride. "A woman can be proud and stiff When on love intent; But Love has pitched his mansion in The place of excrement; For nothing can be sole or whole That has not been rent."
1 Grill: "loneliness"
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", appears in The Winding Stair, first published 1929 [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 Peter George Aston (b. 1938), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", published 1964 [ unaccompanied soprano ], from Five Songs of Crazy Jane [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop", 1999, copyright © 2000 [ soprano, flute, violin, viola, cello and piano ], from Crazy Jane Sings, no. 6, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Patrick Arthur Sheldon Hadley (1899 - 1973), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", 1958 [ soprano and harp ], from Crazy Jane, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Lidov (b. 1941), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", 1967, rev. 1970 [ voice and piano ], from Crazy Jane's songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ben Moore (b. 1960), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop" [ voice and piano ], from Eight Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Paviour (b. 1931), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", copyright © 1969 [ soprano and piano ], from Crazy Jane, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Douglas Young (b. 1947), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", 1970-3, copyright © 1969 [ soprano, tenor, bass clarinet, viola, violoncello ], from Realities [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Die verrückte Jane spricht mit dem Bischof", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "De narrische Jane sogds dem Bischof eihne", Viennese dialect, copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-03
Line count: 18
Word count: 105
Wirih den Bischof troffn hob do haumma gredt gaunz frei: "De Duttln hengan brettl-ehm, Dei Soft, dea trikkat ei; Du soitast in da Kiachn lehm Und net im Sauschdoi sei!" "Da Schdoi und d'Kiachn san fawaunt: De Kiachn braucht den Schdoi", Schrei I, "Siss woa, I hob kan Freind Im Bett, söbst wauni zoi; Fon Bett und Grob is d'oide Haut, Fon Schdoids mei Heazal foi. "A Weib kaun ah schdehn schdoids und schdeif Waunds d'Liab do drinnan gneist; Dochd Liab, di baut ia Heisl daun Grohd duat, wohsd aussascheisst; Den nigs kau gaunz und söba sei, Wos ned dsafua dsahreisst."
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2010 by Walter A. Aue, (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.
Walter A. Aue.  Contact: waue (AT) dal (DOT) ca
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Based on:
- a text in English by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Crazy Jane talks with the Bishop", appears in The Winding Stair, first published 1929
This text was added to the website: 2010-03-26
Line count: 18
Word count: 101