by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893)
A spring ditty
Language: English after the Latin
In the spring, ah happy day! Underneath a leafy spray With her sister stands my may. O sweet love! He who now is reft of thee Poor is he! Ah, the trees, how fair they flower Birds are singing in the bower; Maidens feel of love the power. O sweet love! See the lilies, how they blow! And the maidens row by row Praise the best of gods below. O sweet love! If I held my sweetheart now, In the wood beneath the bough, I would kiss her, lip and brow. O sweet love! He who now is reft of thee, Poor is he! At another time he has clasped it, but he trembles lest it should escape him.
Text Authorship:
- by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893), "A spring ditty", appears in Wine, Women, and Song: Students' Songs of the Middle Ages, no. 18, first published 1884 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , written c1150, in Carmina Burana, 85
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "A spring ditty", op. 72 (Four Songs) no. 1, published 1910 [ voice and piano ], London : Elkin [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation sometimes misattributed to Volkslieder (Folksongs) and by Ludwig Laistner (1845 - 1896) , appears in Golias. Studentenlieder des Mittelalters, aus dem lateinischen von Ludwig Laistner, Stuttgart: W. Spemann, first published 1879 ; composed by Robert von Hornstein, Eduard Tauwitz, Max Zenger.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-05-07
Line count: 21
Word count: 119