Over hill, over dale | Over hill, over dale

Over hill, over dale

Language: English

Our translations: FRE ITA

Over hill, over dale,
  Thorough bush, thorough briar,
Over park, over pale,
  Thorough flood, thorough fire
I do wander everywhere.

Swifter than the moon's sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 1. [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 Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "Over hill, over dale", op. 39 no. 1 (1897), from Three Shakespeare choruses, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Matthew Dewey (b. 1984), "Over hill, over dale", 2013, first performed 2013 [ baritone and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Over hill, over dale ", op. 181 no. 3 (1988) [ counter-tenor, recorder, harpsichord, and violoncello ], from Six by Four, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Over hill, over dale", 1951 [ chorus ], from Three Shakespeare Songs, no. 3, partsong [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 77