by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906)
Translation Singable translation by Herbert Harper
Djup stod färgen på fura på sten
Language: Swedish (Svenska)
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.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Ernst Josephson, Svarta Rosor och Gula, C. & E. Gernandts Förlags Aktiebolag, Stockholm, 1901, page 190.
Note: "Necken" is sometimes spelled "Näcken"
1 Kilpinen: "och på"
Authorship:
- by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Necken", appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula [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 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 checked 1 time]
- by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Näcken", op. 57 (8 sånger (Eight Songs)) no. 8 (1909) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Herbert Harper) , "The elfking"
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Näkki", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le nix", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Theobald Rehbaum) , "Der Neck"
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 79
The elfking
Language: English  after the Swedish (Svenska)
Shadows falling on fir tree and on stone, Fir-trees and stones and shadows dark and lone, Embroidered with silver and gold. Quiet on a stone in deepest shadow lost, Sits there a boy as pallid as a ghost, and moveth his bow o'er the strings. Nixie's gold harp a merry dance doth play, Harpers fast follow, till cometh on his way, The Elfking grey bearded and old. My boy was but the spirit of a dream; Nixie the torment of a mountain stream That sprinkled its foam on my face.
Note: from the Sibelius score.
Researcher for this page: Harry Joelson
Authorship:
- Singable translation by Herbert Harper , "The elfking" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Ernst Josephson (1851 - 1906), "Necken", appears in Svarta Rosor och Gula
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: Harry Joelson
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 90