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The young May moon is beaming; love,
The glow-worm's lamp is gleaming, love,
How sweet to rove
Through Morna's grove,
When the drowsy world is dreaming, love!
Then awake! The heavens look bright, my dear,
'Tis never too late for delight, [my dear,]1
And best of all ways
To lengthen [our]1 days
Is to steal a few hours from the night, my [dear!]2
Now all the world is sleeping, love.
But the Sage, his star-watch keeping, love,
And I, whose star,
More glorious far,
Is the eye from that casement peeping, love.
Then awake ! — till rise of sun, my dear,
The Sage's glass we'll shun, my dear.
Or, in watching the flight
Of bodies of light,
He might happen to take thee for one, my dear.
C. Ives sets stanza 1
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Thomas Moore, A New Edition from the last London Edition, Boston: Lee and Shepard; New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, 1876.
1 omitted by Ives2 Ives: "my dear,/ When the drowsy world is dreaming, love!"
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "The young May Moon", appears in Irish Melodies [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Daniel Gilliam (b. 1978), "A night song", 2003, from Three Nocturnes, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Edward Ives (1874 - 1954), "A night song", stanza 1 [ voice and piano ], from Sentimental Ballads, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Émile Paladilhe.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ignaz Brüll.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La jeune lune de mai", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 130
La jeune lune de mai rayonne ; amour, La lampe du ver luisant brille, Comme il est doux d'errer Dans le bosquet de Morna Quand le monde endormi rêve,amour ! Veille donc ! Le ciel semble clair, ma chère, Il n'est jamais trop tard pour le plaisir, [ma chère,]1 Et le meilleur moyen De prolonger [nos]2 jours Est de voler quelques heures à la nuit, ma [chère !]3 Maintenant le monde entier dort, amour. Sauf le Sage observant les étoiles, amour, Et moi, dont l'étoile, Bien plus splendide. Est l'œil qui observe depuis cette fenêtre, amour. Veille donc ! Jusqu'au lever du soleil, ma chère, Fuyons la lunette du Sage, ma chère. Ou, observant le vol Des corps lumineux, Il pourrait te prendre pour l'un d'eux, ma chère.
1 omitted by Ives.
2 Ives : "les"
3 Ives : "chère,/ Quand le monde endormi rêve,amour !"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (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 English by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "The young May Moon", appears in Irish Melodies
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-18
Line count: 20
Word count: 127