THE NIGHTINGALE
The rose looks out in the valley
And thither will I go!
To the rosy vale where the nightingale
Sings his song of woe.
The virgin is on the river-side
Culling the lemons pale;
Thither,—yes! thither will I go
To the rosy vale where the nightingale
Sings his song of woe.
The fairest fruit her hand hath culled,
'Tis for her lover all,
Thither,—yes! thither will I go
To the rosy vale where the nightingale
Sings his song of woe.
In her hat of straw, for her gentle swain,
She has placed the lemons pale;
Thither,—yes! thither will I go
To the rosy vale where the nightingale
Sings his song of woe.
Gil Vicente
Translation by John Bowring