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by Charles Dibdin (1745 - 1814)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Tom Bowling
Language: English 
Our translations:  CAT FRE
Here, a sheer hulk, lies poor Tom Bowling,
The darling of our crew;
No more he'll hear the tempest howling,
For death has broached him to.
His form was of the manliest beauty,
His heart was kind and soft.
Faithful below, Tom did his duty,
And now he's gone aloft.

Tom never from his word departed,
His virtues were so rare;
His friends were many and true-hearted,
His Poll was kind and fair:
And then he'd sing so blithe and jolly,
Ah! many's the time and oft;
But mirth is turned to melancholy,
For Tom is gone aloft.

Yet shall poor Tom find pleasant weather,
When He, who all commands,
Shall give, to call life's crew together.
The word to pipe all hands:
Thus death, who kings and tars despatches,
In vain Tom's life hath doffed;
For though his body's under hatches,
His soul is gone aloft.

Text Authorship:

  • by Charles Dibdin (1745 - 1814) [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Tom Bowling" [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Charles Dibdin (1745 - 1814), "Tom Bowling" [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Tom Bowling", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Tom Bowling", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 147

Tom Bowling
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Ici, sur un ponton nu, gît le pauvre Tom Bowling,
Le chouchou de notre équipage ;
Il n'entendra plus la tempête hurler,
Car la mort l'a abordé.
Son corps était de la beauté la plus virile,
Son cœur était gentil et doux.
Fidèle ici-bas, Tom a fait son devoir,
Et maintenant il est parti en haut.

Tom n'a jamais manqué à sa parole,
Ses vertus étaient si rares ;
Ses amis étaient nombreux et sincères,
Il était connu comme gentil et juste :
Et puis il avait chanté si joyeusement et si agréablement,
Ah ! maintes fois et souvent ;
Mais la gaieté s'est transformée en mélancolie,
Car Tom est parti en haut.

Pourtant le pauvre Tom trouvera le temps agréable
Quand celui qui gouverne tout,
Donnera pour appeler l'équipage de la vie
Le mot pour rassembler tout l'équipage :
Ainsi la mort qui fait partir les rois et les matelots
En vain a ôté la vie de Tom ;
Car bien que son corps soit dans la cale,
Son âme est partie en haut.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Charles Dibdin (1745 - 1814)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2015-10-24
Line count: 24
Word count: 168

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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