by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)
Translation by Richard Le Gallienne (1866 - 1947)
Weep, Mother of Love ! Weep, Baby‑Boy of...
Language: English  after the Latin
Weep, Mother of Love ! Weep, Baby-Boy of Arrows ! And weep all men that have a tear to shed ! Because -- alas ! -- the sparrow of all sparrows, The sparrow of my little girl, is dead. O it was sweet to hear him twitter-twitter In the dear bosom where he made his nest ! Lesbia, sweetheart, who shall say how bitter This grief to us -- so small to all the rest ? For Lesbia loved no less that little bird, Nor less was loved, than mother loves her daughter, Or daughter mother ; would you could have heard His tiny voice, pretty as falling water ! And in no other bosom would he sing, But sometimes sitting here and sometimes there, On one bough and another, would he sing, -- Faithful to Lesbia -- as I am to her. He, little bird, must go, as go the flowers, Down the dark road by which no man returns ; O curses on the black strength that devours The beauty of life, and all its music burns Foul shades of Orcus, evil you befall ! 'Tis true you smote her little sparrow dead -- But this you did to Lesbia worse than all: You made her eyes with weeping -- O so red !
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Richard Le Gallienne (1866 - 1947), "Weep, Mother of Love!", appears in New Poems, first published 1910 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 2
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 Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Lesbia's sparrow", 1957. [high voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-15
Line count: 24
Word count: 209