Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever;
[ One foot in sea and one on shore;
To one thing constant never. ]1
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no more,
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
[ The fraud of men was ever so
Since summer first was leavy. ]1
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Scene 3

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

by David Werner Amram (1930-) , "Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more", from Five Shakespeare Songs, no. 5.
by Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778) , "Sigh no more, ladies"
by Geoffrey Bush (1920-1998) , "Sigh no more, ladies"
by William Arms Fisher (1861-1948) , "Sigh no more, ladies", op. 5 no. 5, published 1897.
by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910-1998) , "Sigh no more, ladies", from Six Shakespeare Songs, no. ?
by Frederick Keel (1871-1954) , "Sigh no more, ladies"
by Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) , "Sigh no more Ladies", from 5 Shakespeare Songs, no. 3, available from the Kenneth Leighton Trust, e-mail jo (DOT) leighton (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co (DOT) uk
by Mary Plumstead (1905-1980) , "Sigh no more, ladies"
by Roger Quilter (1877-1953) , "Sigh no more, ladies", op. 30 (Four Shakespeare Songs) no. 4 (1927), published 1927. [voice and piano]
by Betty Roe (1930-) , "Sigh no more", published 1974 [medium voice, flute, and piano], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1.
by Donna Gartman Schultz , "Sigh no more, ladies" [chorus a cappella], from Two Shakespeare Songs, no. ?
by Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) , "Sigh no more, ladies", published 1866 [voice and piano], from 5 Shakespeare Songs, no. 3.
by Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896-1989) , "Sigh no more, ladies", from Five Shakespeare Songs, no. 3.
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) , "The conspiracy", from In Windsor Forest, no. 1.
by Peter Warlock (1894-1930) [pseudonym] , "Sigh no more, ladies"

FIN Finnish (Erkki Pullinen)
DUT Dutch (Pauline Kroger)
FIN Finnish (Paavo Cajander)

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

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De samenzwering

Zucht niet meer, dames, dames, zucht niet meer,
Mannen bedriegen van oudsher,
één voet in zee enéén op het land,
Ze zijn zo constant als een dwaalster.
Zucht niet zo zwaar, 
vergeet ze nu maar,
Wees liever blij en vrolijk,
Zet al je treurgeluiden om in
Hé, hé, nonny nonny nonny nonny.

Zing nu geen klaagzang, zing die niet meer,
Niet meer zangen, zo somber en zwaar,
Mannen belazerden altijd de kluit
Zo lang als de zomers zijn daar.
Zucht niet zo zwaar, 
vergeet ze nu maar,
Wees liever blij en vrolijk,
Zet al je treurgeluiden om in
Hé, hé, nonny nonny nonny nonny.

Translation from English to Dutch copyright © 2009 by Pauline Kroger, Paulinekroger (AT) cs (DOT) com, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Scene 3 FIN

Text added to the website: 2009-11-16.