Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favourite Songs. Erik Didriksen
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Название: Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favourite Songs

Автор: Erik Didriksen

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Драматургия

Серия:

isbn: 9780008145439

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ thousands of unpublished sonnets that were performed with musical accompaniment between acts of his plays. These sonnets survived by being passed down orally, particularly among members of Shakespeare’s troupe, the King’s Men. (Said troupe endured far longer than most people realise, scoring a number one hit in 1963 with their version of ‘Louie, Louie’.)

      In 1743, Sir Kirk de Edin began transcribing these sonnets, finally providing the world with a written record of Shakespeare’s lost genius. His work went largely unnoticed, however, until Columbia record executive Robert Lorre discovered the manuscripts in 1951 and began using the sonnets as the foundation for new singles. De Edin’s manuscript quietly spread throughout the music industry, inspiring countless hit songs over the next sixty-five years.

      The volume you hold is a selection of these lesser-known sonnets, along with the titles of the songs they helped spark. I earnestly hope they bring you a greater appreciation of both the Bard and the artists he inspired.

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      The game of love, we intimately know –

      its laws and maxims, mastered by our hearts;

      thus, I propose to be thine only beau

      with passion that no other could impart.

      These feelings weighing heavy in my breast

      should in thy soul be similarly sown;

      and now they all are earnestly express’d

      so that my vows are understood and known:

      O never shall I vacate from thy side,

      nor ever shall I disappoint thee hence,

      nor will the day approach that wounded pride

      shall rise from some unfaithful dalliance.

      My actions leave thy face unstained by tears

      and ledgers of my lies shall remain clear.

       Rick Astley, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’

      Into the well, I cast a humble pray’r

      and though I’ll not reveal the wish I made,

      our eyes, they met and we a moment shar’d,

      wherein my silent want was well convey’d.

      Before we met, I had no yearnings borne

      for fairytale romance or courtship’s glee,

      but O! the summer breeze! thy breeches torn!

      I have no doubt thou art my destiny!

      Though we’ve each other only moments known,

      my heart doth fling fair Logic now away!

      I beg thee, take my favour for thine own –

      perchance to call upon me soon, I pray!

      For long before we had a chance to start,

      thy absence left an aching in my heart.

       Carly Rae Jepsen, ‘Call Me Maybe’

      Thou art a flame that burns within my breast,

      the singular desire within my heart.

      Believe my wish, most solemnly profess’d,

      that we should ne’er again be made apart.

      Yet we are twain; it seems thou’rt worlds away –

      I cannot reach thee with my outstretch’d hand

      to soothe thy aching soul if thou shouldst say

      thy heart had other circumstances plann’d.

      Pray speak of why our love such torment holds,

      and prithee say why this must folly be!

      No, tell me not; I fear what might unfold

      if our two fondest hopes should not agree.

      I cannot hold my passion long at bay

      for I do want love fashion’d strong that way.

       Backstreet Boys, ‘I Want It That Way’

      Thy confidence in Nature’s gifts is strain’d;

      I know not why, for thine’s a pleasing face.

      Pray witness all the staring unconstrain’d

      by those who mark thine entrance to a place.

      Thy naked face is beauty unsurpass’d;

      thy countenance is not by rouge improv’d.

      Like Helen’s, it could launch a navy vast,

      yet thy reflection leaves thee still unmov’d.

      My life, once dark, is bathed in brilliant light

      for thou hast graced it with thy presence sweet;

      yet thou’lt not see the passion thou’st ignite

      when thou hast fix’d thy gaze upon thy feet.

      Thy charms are temper’d with humility,

      and make thee still more beautiful to me.

       One Direction, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’

      Each night I close my eyes to sleep, assured

      that in my dreams I’ll see once more thy face;

      and thus I know thy soul hath still endured

      beyond this world’s ephemeral embrace.

      I know not if thy soul stays at my side

      or if it every night from Heaven leaves.

      No matter where it lives, thy love abides

      within СКАЧАТЬ