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Слышишь, воющий набат, Точно стонет медный ад! Эти звуки, в дикой муке, сказку ужасов твердят. Точно молят им помочь, Крик кидают прямо в ночь, Прямо в уши тёмной ночи Каждый звук, То длиннее, то короче, Выкликает свой испуг, - И испуг их так велик, Так безумен каждый крик, Что разорванные звоны, неспособные звучать, Могут только биться, виться и кричать, кричать, кричать! Только плакать о пощаде И к пылающей громаде Вопли скорби обращать! А меж тем огонь безумный, И глухой и многошумный, Всё горит, То из окон, то по крыше, Мчится выше, выше, выше, И как будто говорит: -- Я хочу Выше мчаться, разгораться, встречу лунному лучу, Иль умру, иль тотчас -- тотчас вплоть до месяца взлечу! О, набат, набат, набат, Если б ты вернул назад Этот ужас, это пламя, эту искру, этот взгляд, Этот первый взгляд огня, О котором ты вещаешь, с плачем, с воплем и звеня! А теперь нам нет спасенья, Всюду пламя и кипенье, Всюду страх и возмущенье! Твой призыв, Диких звуков несогласность Возвещает нам опасность, - То растёт беда глухая, то спадает, как прилив! Слух наш чутко ловит волны в перемене звуковой, Вновь спадает, вновь рыдает медно-стонущий прибой!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with К. Д. Бальмонт, Из Мировой Поэзии, Берлин: Изд. Слово, 1921, pages 80-83.
Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST
Note on TransliterationsAuthorship:
- by Konstantin Dmitrevich Bal'mont (1867 - 1942), no title, appears in Колокольчики и колокола (Kolokol'chiki i kolokola), no. 3 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), no title, appears in The Bells, no. 3
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Слышишь, воющий набат", op. 35 no. 3, published 1920 [ chorus, soprano, tenor, baritone solo voices, and orchestra ], from Колокола (Kolokola), no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-14
Line count: 39
Word count: 190
Hear the howling warning bell, The very groaning bronze of hell! These pitches declaim a horrific tale of torment. Indeed they plead for help, Cries sent out in the night. Straight in the gloomy night Every note, This one longer, that one shorter Cries out its own fright -- And great is their fright, So insane are their cries, That their tattered ringing, their insufficient sound can only struggle, twist, and cry, cry, cry! Only weep for mercy And to the giant flames Direct their doleful wails! But the brutal flames, Uncaring and raucous, Still burn. Their light, on the rooftops, Speeds upward, upward, upward, As if it were saying: I want To rush upward, to blaze, to touch the gleaming moonbeams. I will die, or fly up now, now to the moon! O alarm bell, alarm bell, alarm bell If only you would take back That terror, those flames, that spark -- that glimpse, That first glimpse of the fire Which you proclaim with weeping, with wailing and with chimes! Now there is no redemption, Everywhere there is the lick of flames, Everywhere there is fear and indignation. Your call, These savage, dissonant tones, Announce our peril. In wild mischief they ebb and flow like a tide! Our ears clearly catch the ever-changing sound of the waves, Now ebbing, now sobbing, in the brazen, groaning surf.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2007 by Ahmed E. Ismail, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in Russian (Русский) by Konstantin Dmitrevich Bal'mont (1867 - 1942), no title, appears in Колокольчики и колокола (Kolokol'chiki i kolokola), no. 3 [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), no title, appears in The Bells, no. 3
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-14
Line count: 39
Word count: 225