A Midsummer Night's Dream, Incidental Music, op. 61, MWV M 13: no. II. L'istesso tempo Songtext
von Judi Dench, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa

Over hill, over dale
Thorough bush, thorough brier
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 favors
In those freckles live their savors
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear
Farewell, thou lob of spirits; I′ll be gone
Our Queen and all her elves come here anon


The King doth keep his revels here tonight
Take heed the Queen come not within his sight
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath
Because that she, as her attendant, hath
A lovely boy stolen from an Indian king
She never had so sweet a changeling
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild

But she perforce withholds the lovèd boy
Crowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy
And now they never meet in grove or green
By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen
But they do square, that all their elves for fear
Creep into acorn cups and hide them there

Men call me Robin Goodfellow, I'm he
That frights the maidens of the villag'ry
Skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn
And sometimes make the drink to bear no barm
Mislead night wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that "hobgoblin" call me and "sweet puck,"
I do their work and they shall have good luck

But room, fairy, here comes Oberon
And here my mistress, would that he were gone