by Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise zu Wied, Prinzessin (1843 - 1916), as Carmen Sylva
Translation by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939)
Spinning song
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
The daughter: What didst thou mother when thou wert a maiden? The mother: I was young. The daughter: Didst thou, like me, Hark to the moon’s soft footfalls across the sky, Or didst thou watch the little star’s betrothals? The mother: Thy father cometh home, Leave the door open. The daughter: Down to the fountain, didst thou go and there thy wooden pitcher filled Didst thou yet linger another hour With the full pitcher by thee? The mother: I was young. The daughter: And did thy tears make glad thy countenance? And didst thy sleep bring gladness to the night? And didst thy dreams bring gladness to thy sleep? And didst thou smile even by graves Despite thy pity, thy pity for the dead? The mother: Thy father cometh home, Leave the door open. The daughter: Lovedst thou strawberries and raspberries Because they are as red as maiden’s lips? Didst love the girdle for it’s many pearls The river and the wood, because they lie so close behind the village? Didst love the beating of the heart There close beneath thy bodice Even although t’were not thy Sunday bodice? The mother: Thy father cometh home Leave the door open.
Authorship:
- by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939), appears in The bard of the Dimbovitza : Rovmanian folk-songs collected from the peasants [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise zu Wied, Prinzessin (1843 - 1916), as Carmen Sylva, no title, appears in Lieder aus dem Dimbovitzathal
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, Sir (1883 - 1953), "Spinning song", 1914, rev. 1946 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from The Bard of the Dimbovitza, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-12-05
Line count: 38
Word count: 199