Tu pupila es azul, y cuando ríes
Language: Spanish (Español)
Available translation(s): ENG FRE GER
Tu pupila es azul, y cuando ríes,
Su claridad süave me recuerda
El trémulo fulgor de la mañana
Que en el mar se refleja.
Tu pupila es azul, y cuando lloras,
Las [trasparentes]1 lágrimas en ella
Se me figuran gotas de rocío
Sobre una violeta.
Tu pupila es azul, y si en su fondo,
Como un punto de luz radia una idea,
Me parece en el cielo de la tarde
¡Una perdida estrella!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with Obras de Gustavo A. Bécquer, tomo segundo, Rimas, Madrid: Imprenta de T. Fortanet, 1871, page 264.
Note: inspired by Byron's I saw thee weep; sometimes given the title "Imitación de Byron"
1 J. Turina: "transparentes"
Notes: Spelling variants in first publication
The spelling variant "ries" in line 1 has been changed to "ríes".
The spelling variant "süave" in line 2 has been preserved to indicate the poetic diaeresis pronunciation.
The spelling variant "rádia" in line 12 has been changed to "radia".
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Claycomb) , "Your eye is blue", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Tes yeux sont bleus", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Dein Augenstern ist blau", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , John Versmoren , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 74
Your eye is blue
Language: English  after the Spanish (Español)
Your eye is blue, and when you laugh
its soft brightness reminds me
Of the shimmering glint of morning
that is reflected in the sea.
Your eye is blue, and when you cry,
the transparent tears in it
seem to me drops of dew
upon a violet.
Your eye is blue, and if in its depths
like a point of light an idea radiates,
it seems to me a
lost star in the evening sky! Ah!
Authorship:
- Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2012 by Laura Claycomb, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836 - 1870), no title, appears in Rimas, no. 13, Madrid, Imprenta de T. Fortanet, first published 1871
This text was added to the website: 2012-09-24
Line count: 12
Word count: 76