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I dream'd I lay where flow'rs were springing,
Gaily in the sunny beam;
Listen'ning to the wild birds singing,
By a falling crystal stream.
Straight the sky grew black and daring,
Thro' the woods the whirlwinds rave,
The trees with aged arms were warring,
[Across]1 the swelling drumlie wave.
Such was my life's deceitful morning,
Such the pleasures I enjoy'd !
But long ere noon loud [tempest]2 storming,
All my flow'ry bliss destroy'd.
Tho' fickle fortune has deceiv'd me,
(She promised fair, and perform'd but ill),
Of monie a joy and hope bereav'd me,
I bear a heart shall support me still.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 207.
Glossary
Drumlie = muddy
2 Haydn: "tempests"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "I dream'd I lay" [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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "I dream'd I lay", JHW. XXXII/1 no. 87, Hob. XXXIa no. 87 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "I dreamed I lay" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Set in a modified version by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Je rêvais étendu", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2012-08-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 103
Je rêvais étendu où les fleurs poussaient,
Heureux sous les rayons du soleil,
J'écoutais chanter les oiseaux sauvages
Auprès d'une cascade d'eau cristalline.
Le ciel devint soudain noir et menaçant,
Dans les bois les tourbillons de vent hurlaient,
Des arbres aux vieux bras se battaient
Au-dessus des vagues enflées et turbides.
Tel fut le matin trompeur de ma vie,
Tels étaient les plaisirs que je savourais !
Mais longtemps avant midi, sous les coups sonores de la tempête,
Toutes mes félicités florales étaient détruites.
Bien qu'un sort incertain m'ait trompé,
le bon et donné que le mal,
Privé de bien des joies et espoirs,
J'ai un cœur qui me supportera encore.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (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 English by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "I dream'd I lay"
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-14
Line count: 16
Word count: 110