Djup stod färgen på fura på sten

Djup stod färgen på fura [på]1 sten,
Furor och stenar, de kasta skuggor hän
I skummande silver och gull.

Sitter på stenen i skuggans breda famn,
Svartlockig gosse, så bleknad som en hamn,
Och trevar med stråke på sträng.

Neckens gullharpa spela opp en dans,
Gigan går efter och mistar all sin sans
För elvkung med silver i skägg.

Gossen var blott min egen fantasi -
Necken var forsen, som brusade förbi
Och stänkte sitt skum på min kind.

Translation(s): ENG FIN FRE GER

List of language codes

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: "Necken" is sometimes spelled "Näcken"
¹ Kilpinen: "och på"

Submitted by Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

Authorship

• by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Necken", appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (1892 - 1959), "Näcken", op. 29 no. 5 (1922), published 1924 [voice and piano], from Fantasi och verklighet III, no. 5. [ sung text verified 1 time]
• by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Näcken", op. 57 (8 sånger (Eight Songs)) no. 8 (1909). [ sung text verified 1 time]

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

• GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Theobald Rehbaum) , title 1: "Der Neck"
• ENG English [singable] (Herbert Harper) , title 1: "The elfking"
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "Le nix", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , title 1: "Näkki", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Der Neck

Schwarze Fichten und moos'ges Feldgestein,
werfen die dunkelen Schatten tief hinein,
in die schäumende silberne Flut.
 
Einsam ein Knabe dort sitzt am Bachesrand,
träumerisch, bleich, eine Geige in der Hand,
und lieblich ertönet sein Spiel.
 
Mit der Goldharfe plötzlich nun erscheint,
dort in den Fluten, und spielt, mit ihm vereint
der Neck mit dem silbernen Bart.
 
War ich's doch selbst, der dort im Geist geweiht,
Necklein der Bach, der vorüber dort geeilt
und schäumend die Wang' mir benetzt.

Note: from the Sibelius score.

Submitted by Harry Joelson

Authorship

• Singable translation by Theobald Rehbaum (1835 - 1918), "Der Neck" [ author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

• a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Necken", appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula ENG FIN FRE
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen, Jean Sibelius. Go to the text.

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 ]

Text added to the website: 2009-03-22.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:02:08
Line count: 12
Word count: 78