by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
Translation by Dezső Kosztolányi (1885 - 1936)
To the moon
Language: English
"What have you looked at, Moon, In your time, Now long past your prime?" "O, I have looked at, often looked at Sweet, sublime, Sore things, shudderful, night and noon In my time." "What have you mused on, Moon, In your day, So aloof, so far away?" "O, I have mused on, often mused on Growth, decay, Nations alive, dead, mad, aswoon, In my day!" "Have you much wondered, Moon, On your rounds, Self-wrapt, beyond Earth's bounds?" "Yea, I have wondered, often wondered At the sounds Reaching me of the human tune On my rounds." "What do you think of it, Moon, As you go? Is Life much, or no?" "O, I think of it, often think of it As a show God ought surely to shut up soon, As I go."
Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "To the moon", appears in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, first published 1917 [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 (Robert) Norman Fulton (1909 - 1980), "To the moon", published 1953 [ high voice and piano ], from Three Songs [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "A Holdhoz"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-19
Line count: 28
Word count: 132
A Holdhoz
Language: Hungarian (Magyar)  after the English
Hold, mit láttál a Föld felett, hisz rég vagy ott, s agg arcod nem mától ragyog? "Ó, láttam ezt és azt sokat, édest, nagyot s irtóztatót is, rémeset, én, elhagyott." Hold, min tűnődtél egyre, mondd, a végtelen magányba, fönn a kék egen? "Tűnődtem a forgó időn, vad képeken, élő s halott, ájult és bolond, bús népeken." Hold, ámultál-e valaha, hogy mint titok, ködpára-fátylad borított? "Ámultam én bizony, midőn hozzám szitok, jaj, bú, az emberek zaja, fölordított." Hold, mit hiszel, ég szelleme, reánk mi vár? Az Élet jó-e vagy sivár? "Ó, azt hiszem, rossz színdarab, pörgetni kár, Istennek is be kellene fejezni már."
Authorship:
- by Dezső Kosztolányi (1885 - 1936), "A Holdhoz" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "To the moon", appears in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, first published 1917
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-12-03
Line count: 28
Word count: 102