Komm herbey, komm herbey, Tod!
Und [versenk' in]1 Cypressen den Leib.
  Laß mich frey, laß mich frey, Noth!
Mich erschlägt ein holdseliges Weib.
[Mit Rosmarin mein Leichenhemd, 
  O bestellt es! 
Ob Lieb' ans Herz mir tödtlich kömmt, 
  Treu' hält es.]2

  Keine Blum', keine Blum' süß,
Sey gestreut auf den schwärzlichen Sarg.
  Keine Seel', keine Seel', grüß'
Mein Gebein, wo die Erd' es verbarg.
  Um Ach und Weh zu wenden ab,
    [Bergt alleine
Mich, wo kein Treuer wall' ans Grab,]3
    Und weine.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with August Wilhelm Schlegel, Shakspeare's [sic] dramatische Werke , Zweyter Theil, Berlin: bei Johann Friedrich Unger, 1797, page 214.

¹ D'Alquen: "begrab' "; Killmayer: "bedeck mit"; further changes for Killmayer's setting may exist not noted above.
² Loewe: "Mein Totenkleid mit Eibenblatt, o beeilt es! / Mein Todeslos, kein Treu'rer hat geteilt es."
³ Cornelius: "Bergt mich alleine / Da, wo kein Treuer wall' ans Grab"; D'Alquen: "bergt alleine/ mich, wo kein Treuer komm' ans Grab"; Loewe: "Laßt alleine / Mich ruh'n im Grab, kein Treuer komm' "

Authorship:

• by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), no title [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

• a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, Act II, scene 4
  • Go to the text page.

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

• by Paul Angerer (b. 1927), "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", 1960, published 1965 [ baritone and piano ], from Drei Narrenlieder aus Shakespeares Was ihr wollt, no. 1, Vienna, Doblinger [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl Banck (1809 - 1889), "Süsser Tod", op. 70 (24 Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Beglteitung des Pianoforte) no. 23, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner; note: this may be the wrong text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hermann Bischoff (1868 - 1936), "Komm herbei Tod!", op. 12 (Fünf Lieder für 1 tiefe Singstimme und Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1901 [ low voice and piano ], Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]
• by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Lied von Shakespeare", op. 17 no. 2, published 1861 [ women's chorus, 2 horns, harp ], from Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor mit zwei Hörner und Harfe, no. 2, Bonn, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Walter Braunfels (1882 - 1954), "Zweites Lied des Narren", op. 11 no. 2 (1908) [ voice and piano ], from Musik zu Shakespeares Komödie Was Ihr wollt (Twelfth Night), no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", op. 16 no. 3 (1866-73) [ vocal duet for soprano and bass with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1866 [ duet for soprano and bass with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1854 [ duet for soprano and alto ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1847 [ duet for 2 sopranos with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johann Peter Cornelius D'Alquen (1795 - 1863), "Des Narren Lied", op. posth. 4 (10 Lieder) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Friedrich Adrian Götzloff (d. 1836), "Aus Was ihr wollt'", c1809 [sung text not yet checked]
• by (Karl) Emil Kauffmann (1836 - 1909), "Komm herbei, Tod", op. 17 (Zehn Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 7, published 1884 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Tübingen, Laupp [sung text not yet checked]
• by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Komm herbei, Tod", 1955, first performed 1956 [ tenor, violin, clarinet, bassoon, piano, and percussion ], from Acht Shakespeare-Lieder, no. 4, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
• by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", 1836, published 1899 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Adolph Bernhard Marx (1795 - 1866), "Aus was ihr wollt'", op. 2 no. 3, published 1830 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gesänge, no. 3, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
• by Arnold Mendelssohn (1855 - 1933), "Komm herbei, Tod", published 1892-97 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Komm herbei, Tod!" [ voice and piano ], from Drei Shakespeare-Lieder, no. 1, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
• by Felix von Woyrsch (1860 - 1944), "Lied des Narren", op. 3 (Drei Lieder für Bariton mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1884 [ baritone and piano ], Hamburg, Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
• by Franz Wüllner (1832 - 1902), "Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod", op. 2 (Sechs Lieder) no. 3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Kom maar op, kom maar op, dood", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Jacques Jobard) , "Chant de Shakespeare", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Gianni Franceschi) , "Canzone", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfonso Sebastián) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Matthias Gräff-Schestag , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 82

Kom maar op, kom maar op, dood,
En begraaf in cypressen1 mijn lichaam;
Laat mij vrij, laat mij vrij, nood,
Want een vrouw, mooi maar wreed, doodt mij vreedzaam.
Een doodshemd wit, met roosmarijn,
O bereid het!
Al sterft mijn hart door liefdespijn,
Trouw blijft het.
 
Nee, geen bloem, nee, geen bloem zoet
Zij gestrooid op mijn diepzwarte grafzerk;
En geen ziel, nee, geen ziel moet
Zoeken mij in een hof naast de stadskerk.
Zó zijn we van 't geweeklaag af:
Slechts wat stenen,
Ver, waar geen vriend ooit komt mijn graf
Bewenen.