O Rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.
Two Settings after Poems by William Blake
Song Cycle by René Leibowitz (1913 - 1972)
1. The sick rose  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The sick rose", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 9, first published 1794
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La rosa malalta", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger) , "La rose malade", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , "Die erkrankte Rose", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Die kranke Rose", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Elegi", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Больная роза", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Pablo Sabat) , "Elegía"
1. Rose qui se meurt
— This text is not currently
in the database but will be added
as soon as we obtain it. —
Authorship:
- Singable translation by Jacques-Louis Monod
Based on:
- a text in English by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The sick rose", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 9, first published 1794
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2. Never seek to tell thy love  [sung text not yet checked]
Never seek to tell thy love Love that never told [can]1 be; For the gentle wind does move Silently, invisibly. I told my love, I told my love, I told her all my heart, [Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears]2 -- Ah, she [doth]3 depart. Soon as she was gone from me [A traveller came by]4 Silently, invisibly -- [He took her with a sigh]5.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Love's Secret"
See other settings of this text.
View original text (without footnotes)1 Stöhr: "shall"
2 Stöhr: "Trembling between hope and fear"
3 Stöhr: "did"
4 Stöhr: "A boy chanced going by"
5 Leoni: "O, was no deny"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
2. Jamais, verité d'amour
Jamais, verité d'amour . . . . . . . . . .— The rest of this text is not
currently in the database but will be
added as soon as we obtain it. —
Authorship:
- Singable translation by Jacques-Louis Monod
Based on:
- a text in English by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Love's Secret"
Go to the single-text view