My flocks feed not, My ewes breed not, My rams speed not, All is amiss: Love ’s denying, Faith ’s defying, Heart ’s renying, Causer of this. All my merry jigs are quite forgot, All my lady’s love is lost, God wot: Where her faith was firmly fix’d in love, There a nay is plac’d without remove. One silly cross Wrought all my loss; O! frowning Fortune, cursed, fickle dame; For now I see Inconstancy More in women than in men remain. In black mourn I, All fears scorn I, Love hath forlorn me, Living in thrall: Heart is bleeding, All help needing, O! cruel speeding, Fraughted with gall. My shepherd’s pipe can sound no deal, My wether’s bell rings doleful knell; My curtal dog, that wont to have play’d, Plays not at all, but seems afraid; My sighs so deep Procures to weep, In howling wise, to see my doleful plight. How sighs resound Through heartless ground, Like a thousand vanquish’d men in bloody fight! Clear well spring not, Sweet birds sing not, Green plants bring not Forth their dye; Herds stand weeping, Flocks all sleeping, Nymphs back peeping Fearfully: All our pleasure known to us poor swains, All our merry meetings on the plains, All our evening sport from us is fled, All our love is lost, for Love is dead. Farewell, sweet lass, Thy like ne’er was For a sweet content, the cause of all my moan: Poor Corydon Must live alone; Other help for him I see that there is none.
G. Allwright sets lines 1-12
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, ed. by W. J. Craig, London: Oxford University Press: 1914.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, no title, appears in The Passionate Pilgrim, no. 17, appears in Sonnets to sundry notes of music, no. 3, first published 1599 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- sometimes misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Graeme Allwright , "My flocks feed not", published 1967, lines 1-12 [ low voice and piano ], Paris, Société Nouvelle [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-12-05
Line count: 54
Word count: 255
Mes troupeaux n’engraissent pas, mes brebis ne nourrissent pas, mes béliers ne multiplient pas, tout va mal. L’amour se meurt, la foi se moque, le cœur se renie ; voilà la cause de tout cela. Tous les chants joyeux sont mis en oubli ; tout l’amour de ma maîtresse est perdu pour moi, Dieu le sait ; à cette tendresse que sa foi avait si fermement fixée, a succédé une insurmontable résistance. Une stupide boutade a fait toute ma perte. Ô fortune ennemie, maudite capricieuse ! Je le vois maintenant, l’inconstance existe bien plus chez les femmes que chez les hommes. Je me mets en deuil ; je dédaigne tout scrupule ; mon amour m’a délaissé, et je reste en esclavage ; mon cœur saigne, ayant besoin de secours : ô cruelle assistance ! on ne l’abreuve que de fiel ! Mon chalumeau de pâtre ne rend plus de son ; le grelot de mes moutons fait entendre un glas funèbre ; mon chien à queue courte, qui avait coutume de jouer, ne joue plus et semble inquiet. Poussant des soupirs profonds, il se met à pleurer, et il hurle d’un air d’intelligence en voyant mon désespoir. Comme ces soupirs résonnent contre la terre sourde ! on dirait comme les gémissements de mille vaincus dans une bataille sanglante ! Les sources limpides ne coulent plus, les doux oiseaux ne chantent plus, les bruyantes cloches ne sonnent plus joyeusement ; les bergers sont éplorés, les troupeaux sont somnolents, et les nymphes glissent à reculons avec effroi. Adieu tous les plaisirs connus de nous, pauvres pâtres, toutes nos réunions joyeuses dans la plaine, tous nos ébats du soir. C’en est fait de tout notre amour, car l’amour est mort. Adieu, douce fillette ! Tes pareilles n’ont jamais eu de douces complaisances, et c’est la cause de tous mes tourments. Le pauvre Coridon doit désormais vivre seul ; je ne vois pas pour lui d’autre avenir.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , no title, appears in The Passionate Pilgrim, no. 17, appears in Sonnets to sundry notes of music, no. 3, first published 1599 and misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-01-25
Line count: 54
Word count: 323